The San Jose Sharks announced today that forward Michael Misa has been recalled from the Canadian National Junior Team. In a corresponding move, the club placed defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin on injured reserve.
Mukhamadullin left San Jose’s Jan. 3 contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning with an injury. His placement on IR means he’ll miss at least a week with his injury, and the Sharks have not announced a more specific recovery timeline for the Russian blueliner. Mukhamadullin is averaging 16:26 time on ice per game this season including 1:26 per game on the penalty kill. He has six points through 23 games and is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights.
Replacing Mukhamadullin on the active roster is Misa, fresh off of winning a bronze medal with Canada at the World Junior Championships in Minnesota. The No. 2 pick at the 2025 draft, Misa scored three points in seven games for the Sharks after breaking camp with the team, but found himself outside of the regular lineup looking in. In a situation not entirely unlike 2022 No. 4 pick Shane Wright’s rookie season with the Seattle Kraken in 2022-23, Misa was able to be reassigned to the AHL on a conditioning loan before his loan to Team Canada. Misa scored one point in two AHL contests.
The talented 18-year-old scorer re-enters the Sharks’ pro ranks after an uneven World Juniors tournament. While his on-paper numbers were acceptable (seven points in seven games), five of those seven points came in blowout victories over Denmark and Slovakia, respectively, games in which Canada was never in much true danger of losing. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler wrote today that Misa “didn’t meet expectations” at the tournament and “never quite came up big in a big moment for Canada.” Misa’s performance in Canada’s semifinal loss to Czechia generated some criticism, with The Athletic’s Corey Pronman writing in the aftermath “it’s reasonable to be concerned about how much [Misa] has disappeared in big games.”
Thankfully for Misa, the way the Sharks are playing right now could give him the opportunity to play in some more “big games” before the season is over. In the past few seasons, the Sharks would be in the NHL’s basement at this point, with virtually no chance of seriously competing for the playoffs in the spring. But thanks in large part to a stellar sophomore season from Macklin Celebrini, the Sharks are in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race, just two points behind the Anaheim Ducks for the second Wild Card playoff spot.