Zdeno Chara dominated the NHL for many years thanks to his imposing size of 6’9 and 250 pounds. A young 16-year-old Russian defender, however, is already taller than him and he is impressing in North America.
We are talking here about Alexander Karmanov. We already told you about him a few months ago, but Nicolas Cloutier from TVA Sports spoke with his trainer to get details on his more than interesting career.
Karmanov is seven feet tall and weighs 273 pounds. At 16, this is what you would call an anomaly. His coach with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights AAA team, Matt Reid, is surprised to see him skating like this.
At seven feet, you’d expect a slow player who has difficulty making tight turns, but that’s not the case for Karmanov. He is so agile on his skates that his coach is convinced he will become a household name in the NHL for a dozen years.
Here are some sequences of his prowess on skates.
Cloutier says he researched the greatest active players in all of hockey and that Karmanov is the greatest in the world. To be the tallest in the world and still have superb skating is simply remarkable.
The worst part is that he was shorter than his father, who is 6’2, just two years ago! Two major growth spurts later, he is still able to move fluidly.
As Cloutier explained, all equipment for a giant like Karmanov has to be custom-made. He must equip himself with the largest poles available and add a 2.5 inch extension!
That’s without forgetting the flex of his stick, which must be extremely high otherwise he will shatter it with every shot! Chara had a flex of 155 in his stick, while the average in the NHL 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 is so tall that most of his punches hit his opponents’ heads.
It’s a problem that scared his coach because he was ejected from two of his first three games of the season. He didn’t even know if Karmanov was going to be able to finish the campaign because of the sanctions!
Fortunately for Karmanov and his coach, the problem seems to have been resolved. He currently has 13 points in 9 games this season.
He will be eligible for the 2026 NHL draft and will play with Penn State in the NCAA in 2027.
In burst
– Slafkovsky looks great in this ad.
– Devon Levi wears Ann-Renée Desbiens’ gear! [Habsolument Fan]
– Marc Dumont has several interesting stories to tell.
– 15 wins in 16 games for the Jets.
– Wow!
