Shakir Mukhamadullin

Mukhamadullin was selected in the first round, 20th overall in 2020 and played this season for Ufa Salavat Yulayev of the KHL where he had three goals and seven points in 34 games. "He'll go down to Utica, he'll watch," New Jersey GM Tom Fitzgerald said, "Will he get in some games, depending on the series. We just want to make sure that we put him in a situation that he's comfortable with, that he's comfortable with that he's growing, but with language barrier, North American type of hockey, it should be a great seeing him on the ice with our prospects."

Mukhamadullin was taken with the 20th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. He has been loaned back to Salavat Yulaev Ufa for the remainder of the 2021-22 KHL season. Mukhamadullin has three goals and seven points in 34 games with the team so far. 

Mukhamadullin was selected selected 20th overall by the Devils in the 2020 Draft and missed most of the second half of the 2020-21 campaign with Ufa of the KHL with the injury. He is expected to be ready for the start of the 2021-22 season which he will once again play for Ufa and will likely cross the pond in time for the 2022-23 season where he is likely to start with the Devils AHL farm team. He had three goals and 10 points in 39 games before the injury.

The Devils got this pick from Tampa Bay in the Blake Coleman deal after the Lightning picked it up from Vancouver in the J.T. Miller trade. Mukhamadullin is already holding his own playing against men with Ufa in the KHL, appearing in 27 games during the 2019-20 campaign while picking up a single point. He was a dominant player at lower levels, showcasing some high-end potential. Mukhamadullin size (6-foot-4, 178 pounds) will catch your eye, but like most players at that height, he’ll need to work on his skating before making the jump across the pond. If he’s able to put it all together, you could be looking at a future top-pairing defenseman.