New Jersey Devils: Shakir Mukhamadullin Shows Defensive Prowess In Win Against Team USA

The New Jersey Devils shocked the world when they took Shakir Mukhamadullin in the NHL Draft. Maybe they were on to something.

The Russian team at the World Junior Championships took Team USA to the woodshed on Christmas Day. The Americans ended up coming back, but they came up short. It was clear who was the better team for most of the game. The Russians held a three-goal lead into the third period and went on to win 5-3.

Obviously, the headline will be Russia beats the USA, but most New Jersey Devils fans only cared about the prospects that played in the game. For USA, Patrick Moynihan had a pretty quiet night. He was pretty good in the third period when the Americans were clawing back, but it’s neither a breakout performance nor one that concerns Devils fans. Arseny Gritsyuk actually looked really good at times. The Russian forwards did a good job at keeping the puck in their own zone.

The player that Devils fans were most concerned with is defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin. After the Devils reached to take him with the 20th-overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft, fans and analysts have been looking to see what the Devils were seeing that everyone else wasn’t. There’s a possibility that the Devils didn’t have a 2nd-round pick and they weren’t willing to lose the asset. However, it’s starting to look like there might be the foundation of a really good defenseman here.

It’s only one game in a flawed tournament when it comes to evaluation (Spencer Knight will still be a great prospect even if he is benched), but Mukhamadullin looked good at the aspects of the game the Devils must hope he’d excel. His positioning looked superb. His decision making was on par with anyone else on the ice. There were mistakes made, but he was never a problem on the ice.

Mukhamadullin was a part of a really good penalty kill by the Russians. He was on the ice for one PP goal, but it came on the Americans’ fourth and final power play.

Mukhamadullin led all Russians in ice time with more than 21 minutes. His ice time will be something to look at in this tournament. Russia probably needs to lead on him a little more than other players. Getting him as many minutes here before he goes back to the KHL will be crucial to building his confidence.

This tournament shouldn’t change anyone’s opinions on Mukhamadullin, but there are a lot of Devils fans who are getting their first look at him play. He made a really good first impression. He showed the makings of a top-line defenseman. He’s clearly still a few years away from being ready. If we had to guess, it’s probably three years until he ventures over to North America. However, once he gains some weight, learns more from the KHL, and enhances the skills he already has, the Devils might have a good defenseman on their hands.