It’s hard to learn how to play defense in the NHL.
Shakir Mukhamadullin, who played a career-high 24:15 in the Sharks’ 3-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday at SAP Center, is a prime example of that.
The 23-year-old, the 2020 New Jersey Devils’ first-round pick, finally is putting together consistently strong NHL tape after a long and non-linear development in the KHL and AHL.
Notably, he’s killing or influencing plays defensively on a fairly regular basis in the best league in the world.
But he still is going to have his rough patches … and that’s okay.
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