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Alexander Karmanov: a 7-foot D with an excellent skating… at 16

 Médérick Lefebvre
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Alexander Karmanov: a 7-foot D with an excellent skating… at 16
Credit: Zdeno Chara dominated the NHL for many years thanks to his imposing 6’9″, 250-pound frame. But a young 16-year-old Russian defenseman is already bigger than he is, and he’s making quite an impression in North America. We’re talking about Alexander Karmanov. We already told you about him a few months ago, but Nicolas Cloutier of […]

Zdeno Chara dominated the NHL for many years thanks to his imposing 6’9″, 250-pound frame. But a young 16-year-old Russian defenseman is already bigger than he is, and he’s making quite an impression in North America.

We’re talking about Alexander Karmanov. We already told you about him a few months ago, but Nicolas Cloutier of TVA Sports spoke with his coach to get the details on his more than interesting career path.

Karmanov is seven feet tall and weighs 273 pounds. At 16, that’s what you might call an anomaly. His coach with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights AAA team, Matt Reid, is amazed to see him skate like this.

At seven feet, you’d expect a slow player who has trouble making tight turns, but that’s not the case with Karmanov. He’s so nimble on his skates that his coach is convinced he’ll be a household name in the NHL for a dozen years.

Here’s some footage of his skating prowess.

Cloutier claims to have sought out the tallest active players in all of hockey, and that Karmanov is the tallest in the world. To be the biggest in the world and still have a superb skating stroke is simply remarkable.

Worst of all, he was shorter than his 6’2″ father just two years ago! Two major growth spurts later, he’s still able to move fluidly.

As Cloutier explained, all the equipment for a giant like Karmanov has to be tailor-made. He has to get the biggest sticks available and add a 2.5-inch extension!

And that’s without forgetting the flex of his stick, which has to be extremely high or he’ll smash it with every shot! Chara had a stick flex of 155, while the NHL average is 80 to 100.

Karmanov’s size is clearly an advantage for him, although it can also be a problem when it comes to making contact with opponents. He’s so tall that most of his shots hit his opponents in the head.

It’s a problem that scared his coach because he got himself ejected from two of his first three games of the season. He didn’t even know if Karmanov would be able to finish the campaign because of the penalties!

Fortunately for Karmanov and his coach, the problem seems to have been solved. So far, he has 13 points in 9 games this season.

He will be eligible for the 2026 NHL draft and will play for Penn State in the NCAA in 2027.


Overtime

– Slafkovsky looks great in this ad.

– Devon Levi wears Ann-Renée Desbiens’ gear! [Habsolument Fan]

– Marc Dumont has many interesting stories to tell.

– 15 wins in 16 games for the Jets.

– Wow!

This content was created with the help of AI.

This content was created with the help of AI.

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