The San Jose Sharks made NHL history in a big way on Saturday.
The Sharks selected 7-foot-1, 272-pound defenseman Alexander Karmanov with the 201st pick, the tallest player ever taken in the NHL draft.
Draft day is close. So is the ceiling. #WeAreGoldStar! pic.twitter.com/LHWYIA6BWO
— Dan Milstein (@HockeyAgent1) June 20, 2026
Karmanov split last season between the Brantford Titans of the GOJHL and the North Bay Battalion of the OHL. He tallied seven points in 15 games in Brantford before notching a pair of assists and 29 penalty minutes in North Bay.
Karmanov is also the first player from Moldova to ever be selected in the NHL draft. He moved to Russia and Belarus to develop his game before heading to the United States, where he played 16U Triple-A in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 2024-25. For his draft year, he competed in junior hockey in Canada. Karmanov is expected to return to North Bay next season before heading to Penn State in 2027.
