SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks have been getting important contributions from forward Collin Graf and defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin in recent games, and both appear to be on track to become full-time NHL players next season.
But getting some AHL playoff experience along the way certainly would not hurt either rookie’s development, and both Graf and Mukhamadullin are enthusiastic about potentially rejoining the San Jose Barracuda next month for what the Sharks hope will be a long postseason run for their top minor league affiliate.
The Sharks sent Graf and Mukhamadullin down to the Barracuda just before the NHL trade deadline on March 7 to ensure they would be eligible for the Calder Cup playoffs, which begin in less than a month. Barring a total collapse, the Barracuda will make the postseason for the first time since 2021.
“Playoff hockey is always fun,” said Graf, who won a NCAA Division I national championship with Quinnipiac in 2023. “There’s more on the line. Guys are giving a little bit more. Especially in college, playoffs are always the best time of the year. That’s what you play the whole year for, so it should be exciting.”
Following the Sharks’ 6-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday, Graf has seven points in his last 10 games. Graf, 22, is now playing in all situations, both as a leading penalty killer and on the second power play unit, helping him average just over 17 minutes in ice time per game in that time.
Mukhamadullin had a career-high 25:26 in ice time Thursday in the Sharks’ 6-5 shootout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Mukhamadullin, 23, has played over 20 minutes in 10 of his last 11 NHL games, and after Jake Walman was traded to the Edmonton Oilers earlier this month, has adjusted well to the bigger role.
Mukhamadullin was injured during training camp and had nine points in 21 games with the Barracuda before the Sharks recalled him in December. While still in the New Jersey Devils organization, Mukhamadullin played in three AHL playoff games for the Utica Comets in 2022.
“Everyone wants to play in the playoffs,” Mukhamadullin said. “If they need me to go (to the Barracuda), then for sure I would go there and play, and try to help the team win the Cup.”
Graf and Mukhamadullin would be huge additions to the Barracuda, which has sputtered recently, winning just four of its last 11 games.
Before his recall to the NHL on Feb. 18, Graf, in his first full season as a professional, had 32 points in 35 games with the Barracuda and would likely be on the team’s top line for the AHL playoffs. Mukhamadullin would likely step into a similarly prominent role as a top-four defenseman.
The Barracuda is in fifth place in the AHL’s Pacific Division with 73 points, five points behind second-place Ontario. The top seven teams in the division make the postseason, with the first-place team earning a first-round bye and the second-through-fourth-place teams hosting a best-of-three opening-round playoff series.
The Sharks’ season ends on April 16 at home against the Edmonton Oilers, and the Barracuda’s last regular-season game is on April 20 in Calgary.
Along with potentially adding Graf and Mukhamadullin, defenseman Luca Cagnoni and forward Zack Ostapchuk also figure to be returned to the Barracuda at some point before the end of the AHL regular season.
“If they can go play in the American League playoffs, it’s really important for their development,” said Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky, who led the Chicago Wolves to the Calder Cup title in 2022. “The speed of the game goes from really zero to 100 and as much as you tell a player, ‘Hey, it’s going to be fast, it’s going to be intense, it’s going be physical,’ until they go in there and face it head on, it’s hard to explain it to them.
“So they need to get that experience, I think it’s crucial.”
DESHARNAIS OUT: Vincent Desharnais missed Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury and did not travel with the Sharks for their two-game road trip to Southern California. San Jose plays Los Angeles today and the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
Desharnais played through the injury during Thursday’s game against Toronto but did not practice Friday. The earliest he’d return is this Thursday when the Sharks host the Oilers.
The Sharks recalled defenseman Jimmy Schuldt to play against the Rangers, but it was unclear before the game whether Schuldt would travel with the Sharks to Los Angeles. But the Sharks expect to have defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic available for today’s game. Vlasic (upper body) has not played since March 15 when the Sharks hosted the Washington Capitals.