SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks returned defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL on Monday morning before leaving for a five-game road trip.

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Since being recalled from the AHL in mid-December, Mukhamadullin, 23, played in 10 games, scored his first NHL goal on Dec. 27, and averaged 15:24 in ice time per game. He was mainly used on the third defense pair.

The Sharks were carrying eight defensemen after Jake Walman was activated off injured reserve on Saturday. They now have Walman, Cody Ceci, Mario Ferraro, Timothy Liljegren, Henry Thrun, Jan Rutta, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Mukhamadullin’s reassignment leaves the Sharks with 22 players on their active roster, although it’s possible that injured forwards Nikolai Kovalenko or Klim Kostin could join the Sharks on the road. Both Kovalenko (upper body) and Klim Kostin (lower body) were placed on IR on Saturday.

After the Sharks play in Detroit on Tuesday, they finish the week-long trip with games against the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, and Nashville Predators.

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