It appears Alexander Karmanov will get a chance to make CHL history in the near future.
The seven-foot defenceman from Moldova was signed by the North Bay Battalion on Wednesday, the OHL team announced.
Karmanov, 17, was playing for the Greater Ontario Hockey League’s Brantford Titans after being selected by the Brantford Bulldogs in the third round of this year’s CHL import draft. He had three goals, four assists and 68 penalty minutes in 15 games with the Bulldogs’ top affiliate.
The Battalion list Karmanov at seven feet and 265 pounds. When he plays his first game, he will become the tallest player in CHL history.
North Bay, fifth in the Eastern Conference, had an open import spot after a trade last week. The Bulldogs are the top team in the OHL with one of the deepest lineups in recent league history.
“How he’s come so far in just like three or four months in the season is remarkable, He’s going to take some time here, but it’s somebody that we put into day-to-day work and gets up to our pace and our style and things that we want to do and how we want to play. He’s a pretty cool addition.”
The Battalion said it could be two weeks before Karmanov plays a game.
“He has a skill set to him,” Oulahen said. “He can move the puck. He’s got hands. He can really shoot. Obviously, his shot when he gets it off is extremely hard and heavy. It’s pretty remarkable for a big man and how big and how young he is. He hasn’t even filled out that frame and he can move the way he moves, so I’m intrigued.”
Karmanov has made a commitment to play NCAA hockey at Penn State University starting in 2027-28.
Karmanov played with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights under-16 team last season in Pennsylvania. He played in Russia and Belarus in 2023-24.
New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe and Hockey Hall of Famer Zdeno Chara, both six-foot-nine, are the tallest players in NHL history.