Penn State’s men’s hockey team has secured a huge recruitment in the most literal sense possible.
That recruit is Alexander Carmanov, a 16-year-old, Russian-Moldovan defenseman for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights of the USPHL, who stands 7-foot tall and weighs 276 pounds. He announced his intentions this past week to play college hockey with the Nittany Lions starting during the 2027-28 NCAA campaign.
Carmanov is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft and would become the first player born in Moldova to be drafted into the league. If he were to ever suit up in an NHL game, he’d also be the tallest player in league history, eclipsing the legendary Zdeno Chara who stands 6 feet and 9 inches.
Per eliteprospects.com, before making his move to North America to play at the U16 level in the USPHL next season, Carmanov played at the U16 level in Russia for Vityaz Podolsk and the U18 level in Belarus for Pinskiye Yastreby. In 25 combined games for the two clubs, the hulking defender recorded 9 points (2g, 7a).
Carmanov uses an almost inconceivably long stick and appears to be a better skater than his height would suggest.
Wondering what a 7-foot-tall hockey player looks like?
Here are some clips of defenceman Alexander Carmanov at this year’s 16U WSI tournament.
🎥: LiveBarn/Шестой полевой YT https://t.co/qFX5fcswCR pic.twitter.com/tTQ3usLbzo
— Mitchell Brown (@MitchLBrown) August 2, 2024
According to eliteprospects.com, Carmanov is one of only two active hockey players in their extensive database to stand at least 6-foot-11. He is joined by fellow 16-year-old, Xavier St-Hilaire, a Quebecois goaltender playing Canadian high school hockey for Académie Sainte-Thérèse.
The database includes just 14 total players standing at least 6-foot-11, including former Washington Bullets center Manute Bol. Bol, who was 7-foot-7, could not skate but did dress for one 2002 game for the Indianapolis Ice in the Central Hockey League. His appearance aimed to help raise money to assist children in Sudan.
The most successful players at Carmanov’s height in the past are goaltender Paul Pizzitola and forward Vitali Bobovnikov. Pizzitola played four years of NCAA Division II hockey with Siena College from 2014-18 while Bobovnikov played professionally in Ukraine for five seasons and featured in the 2011 World Junior Championship (D1).
Carmanov is set to get his first taste of action in North America with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in September against the Elmira Impact.
