San Jose Sharks top prospect Shakir Mukhamadulin gets a good grade from his head coach after his three-game cameo.

San Jose Sharks top prospect Shakir Mukhamadulin gets a good grade from his head coach after his three-game cameo.

San Jose returned to the ice for practice today, and this was the first chance the media had to talk to David Quinn about his thoughts on Mukhamadullin's performance. 

"I thought he had good games. I mean, he was C+ [to] B- and he was good. He did a lot of good things," Quinn said. "Relative to who he is, I'd give him a higher grade. If you're just talking NHL, there were a lot of good things. To me, it's scale, right? He's just 21 years old and playing his first NHL games. I give him a lot of big props."

In three games, Muhamadullin averaged 21:09 TOI and had one assist. 

The plan for Mukhamadullin is to keep him in the AHL for the time being, especially with the Sharks getting much healthier on the backend. 

"Just from a confidence standpoint, keep playing those big minutes, and I know he was playing good minutes here, but just continuing to bring his game to another level," Quinn explained. "It's always interesting to see a player when they get called up for the first time, play a small window of opportunity here and then go back down. A lot of guys end up bringing their game to another level. I think there's an opportunity for him to do that."

The San Jose Barracuda have lost Leon Gawanke as he requested that his contract be terminated so he can go home to Germany. Mukhamadullin was one point behind him in the AHL for most points by a defenseman.

Mukhamadullin told the media after the AHL All-Star Classic that he wants to play in the NHL. Unfortunately for the big defenseman, that won't be the case, at least for now.

"I was not in the conversation, but he was going off the All-Star game and to play in that game before, and he was fine," Quinn said. "There were no issues at all, which none of us expected."

Mukhamadullin showed he can be a solid player in the NHL at a very young age. Returning to the AHL could help him become an elite defenseman when returning to the NHL. The Sharks have big plans for him and need him to develop into a vital piece of the future core.

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