Defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin will be a healthy scratch for the third straight game Sunday when the San Jose Sharks play the Carolina Hurricanes, looking to end a five-game road losing streak.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Sunday morning that in his conversations with general manager Mike Grier and his staff about Mukhamadullin, “we thought this was what was best for the group.
“Again, we really like (Mukhamadullin). We think he’s going to be a really good defenseman. This gives him another skate this morning, another reset. So that’s what we decided.”
It’s been a challenging year so far for Mukhamadullin, who has struggled to regain the form he flashed for five weeks last season, starting in late February, when he had eight points in 17 games and averaged 20:27 in ice time.
The 23-year-old Mukhamadullin, who missed over two weeks in October with an upper-body injury, has now been scratched in four of the last six games. He also sat out due to a coach’s decision three times in six games from Nov. 8-20.
The Sharks’ road trip continues next week with games in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Toronto on Thursday, and Pittsburgh on Saturday. If Mukhamadullin is a healthy scratch for San Jose’s games on Tuesday and Thursday, he would be eligible for a conditioning loan with the Barracuda, although he would still have to agree to go to the AHL.
The Sharks did the same with Vincent Iorio last month, as they scratched him for seven straight games from Oct. 28 to Nov. 8 before he began a two-week conditioning loan with the Barracuda. Iorio, also 23, had seven assists in six games in the AHL before he was recalled on Nov. 24. Iorio will also be a scratch on Sunday.
In 14 games this season, Mukhamadullin has one goal and four assists while averaging 16:29 in ice time as he’s mainly been used on the Sharks’ second or third defense pairs.
Mukhamadullin was a key part of the return in Feb. 2023 when the Sharks traded scoring winger Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils. The Sharks hope Mukhamadullin, who has played just 47 NHL games in his career, can develop into a top-four defenseman, but clearly they feel he has a lot more work to do.
Asked about Mukhamadullin late last month, Warsofsky said the Russian, “needs to be more assertive. Needs to get into people a little bit more. That doesn’t mean he’s got to blow people up. (You don’t have to) bring a ton of physicality, but you’ve got to get in people’s way, you’ve got to be harder to play against.
“He’s a big guy. He’s still learning the position. Coming off an injury, there’s a little bit of scar tissue mentally to work from and work through. A little bit of confidence and getting his confidence back. But I think the big thing is being assertive.”
The Sharks on Sunday are also scratching Iorio and winger Ryan Reaves.
NEDELJKOVIC STARTS
Alex Nedeljkovic, looking for his first win in a month, will start Sunday’s game against the Hurricanes. Nedeljkovic was a second-round pick by Carolina in 2014, and played 29 games with the team from 2017 to 2021 before he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for Jonathan Bernier and a 2021 third-round draft pick.
Nedeljkovic stopped 32 of 33 shots in the Sharks’ 2-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 7. But in five games since, Nedeljkovic is 0-3-0 with a .870 save percentage as Yaroslav Askarov established himself as the Sharks’ No. 1 goalie.
The Sharks have not won on the road since Nov. 11 when Collin Graf scored in overtime to give his team a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. The Sharks have since gone 0-5-0 away from home, outscored 20-5 along the way.
As a reward for his solid play of late, Graf will be joining the Sharks’ top line alongside Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, with Tyler Toffoli moved to the second line with Alexander Wennberg. Graf has eight points in his last 17 games and is averaging 17:34 in ice time as he’s become one of the Sharks’ top penalty killers.
