Sharks defenseman, scratched again, expresses frustration: ‘I’m not happy with how my season is going’

SAN JOSE – Defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin, like most other San Jose Sharks players, got a physical break from hockey earlier this month as the NHL paused its schedule while the men’s Olympic tournament was taking place in Milan, Italy.

The mental break was harder to achieve. While Mukhamadullin was resting his body, he said he could not help wondering where things stand in his career.

“I just think about that,” the Russian-born Mukhamadullin said Thursday morning. “Everyone says I’m young, I’m still young, but I’m already 24. I think it’s not that young. It’s time to do something.”

Now well into his third full professional season in North America, Mukhamadullin has struggled to stay in the Sharks’ lineup for a variety of reasons, including injuries. He will be a healthy scratch again Thursday when San Jose hosts the Calgary Flames.

Mukhamadullin, including Thursday, has played in just 26 games of the Sharks’ 56 games so far. When he has played, he’s averaged 16:15 per game, well below the 18:04 he posted in 30 NHL games last season.

A left-shot defenseman, Mukhamadullinwas on injured reserve from Oct. 19-30, and from Jan. 6-31, missing a combined 16 games in that time. He’s also been scratched 14 times.

“Honestly, I’m not happy with how my season is going,” Mukhamaduklin told the Bay Area News Group. “Not playing that many games. Also have, like, small ice time. When I play, every time, it’s 13, 14 minutes.

“But it is what it is. Just try to stay positive every day. Just a lot of thinking in my head right now about my season, but just stay positive and just prepare for every game and be ready.”

“I think the injuries kind of weigh that down a little bit,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said when asked if Mukhamaduklin has developed enough this season. “If he’s healthy, we’re probably seeing a different player right now.”

Internal competition has also played a role in Mukhamadullin’s reduced role.

The Sharks have a deeper defense corps now than in 2024-25 after they signed veterans Dmitry Orlov and John Klingberg as free agents in the summer. They also claimed Nick Leddy and Vincent Iorio off waivers last year to bolster that depth and have dressed rookie Sam Dickinson, another left-shot, in almost every game since early December due to his rapid improvement.

For a stretch, the Sharks had nine defensemen on the active roster, increasing the competition. The Sharks have seven now, as both Leddy and Iorio were waived, with Leddy now on the San Jose Barracuda’s roster and Iorio claimed by the New York Rangers on Jan. 30.

There is a chance that one or more of the Sharks’ pending unrestricted free agents on defense, such as Klingberg or Mario Ferraro, will be traded before the March 6 deadline, which could provide Mukhamadullin a chance to dress for games on a regular basis.

Still, Mukhamadullin, once the Sharks’ most promising prospect on defense, was again on Thursday waiting for his next chance to play. He dressed in San Jose’s final three games before the Olympic break, scoring a goal and blocking eight shots while averaging just under 15 minutes of ice time. The Sharks entered the break on a four-game losing streak.

Dickinson was scratched from the Sharks’ last game on Feb. 4. He returned to the lineup for Thursday, and Mukhamadullin came out.

“I thought he did some really good things and was solid in some areas that we’ve asked him to improve at,” Warsofsky said of Mukhamdullin’s play before the break. “There’s obviously a little ways to go as far as being a big guy and defending with some jam and making the right play and scanning the ice, and those things that we’ve talked about with him.

“So I think he’s taken a step. But we want to get (Dickinson) back in there.”

Asked if he would prefer to go to another team, Mukhamadullin said, “You never know what’s going to happen, but we’ll see. I’m not thinking about that right now. Just thinking about returning to the lineup and just playing well, just being with the team every day.”

Mukhamadullin is on a one-year, $1 million contract and is slated to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer. He’s one of the few defensemen in the organization under team control for next season who has extensive NHL experience.

Warsofsky said the scratches are part of Mukahamdullin’s learning curve.

“Every player goes through different situations in their career, and not every path to develop into a full-time consistent NHL player is direct,” Warsofsky said. “There are speed bumps along the way, there are injuries along the way, there are mental blocks you’ve got to get through, and (Mukhamadullin) is just going through a little bit of a speed bump in the earlier part of his career.”

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Mukahamadullin was a key piece of the massive February 2023 trade that saw the rebuilding Sharks send five players — including their leading goal scorer at the time, Timo Meier, plus a 2024 fifth-round pick — to the New Jersey Devils.

In what was then first-year general manager Mike Grier’s biggest trade to date, the Sharks received a package of players and picks from the Devils, including a 2023 first-rounder that was used on winger Quentin Musty. They also received forward Fabian Zetterlund, who was sent to Ottawa at last year’s trade deadline for center Zack Ostapchuk.

The Sharks were patient with Mukhamadullin’s development, as he played in 88 games with the Barracuda from March 2023 to February 2025.

Mukhamadullin, drafted 20th overall by the Devils in 2020, made his much-anticipated debut with the Sharks on Jan. 27, 2024. In 59 NHL games with San Jose, Mukhamadullin has five goals and 12 assists while averaging 17:25 in ice time.

The Sharks have three games left before the trade deadline after Thursday, as they host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, and the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.

“For sure, I want to play every game. I want to be an everyday player,” Mukhamadullin said. “I think when I play, I play well. I know what I can do better, but still, I think I have some good games. I will figure it out in the next couple of days, probably.”