'Largest hockey player on the planet': What we know about the 7-foot defenceman heading to Ontario

An Ontario Hockey League (OHL) team has drafted a seven-foot-tall defenceman. The Brantford Bulldogs selected Alexander Karmanov during the 2025 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Import Draft and referred to him as “the largest hockey player on the planet” in a social media post announcing him as the 172nd overall selection. Here’s what we know about the 273-pound hockey player. Where is Alexander Karmanov from? Karmanov was born in Chisinau, Moldova, on March 22, 2008. The 17-year-old is both Moldovan and Russian. According to the Brantford Bulldogs he is the first Moldovan player ever selected in the CHL Import Draft and the first to play for the team and in the OHL. Why did Karmanov choose hockey over basketball? Given Karmanov’s extreme height, some have wondered why the young athlete didn’t choose basketball. While there is no official statement from Karmanov as to why he would pick hockey over basketball, on his Instagram account, Karmanov has pictures from 2013 of him playing hockey, showing his interest in the sport from a young age. Who is the tallest player in the NHL? While Karmanov may be the tallest hockey player in history, the National Hockey League (NHL) record is maintained by Zdeno Chara. The six-foot-nine player retired from the league in 2022. Matt Rempe, the 23-year-old Canadian centre for the New York Rangers, has the record for the tallest active NHL player, at six-foot-nine. This could change as Karmanov is eligible for the 2026 NHL draft. Where did Karmanov play before coming to Canada? Karmanov played in the Russian and Belarusian leagues during the 2023-2024 season. For the 2024-2025 season, he moved to the United States to play for the under 16 AAA Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. In 2024 he announced his commitment to play Division I hockey for Penn State University starting in 2027 in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

With the 172nd overall selection in the 2025 #CHLImportDraft the Brantford Bulldogs are proud to select 7'0" - 273lbs defenseman Alexander Karmanov!The largest hockey player on the planet is on his way to #BFD.#OHL pic.twitter.com/AIqjchvBl2— Brantford Bulldogs (@BulldogsOHL) July 2, 2025

Who are some other tall athletes linked to Canada? Although Karmanov has been breaking records because of his height, some Canadian athletes are not far behind, including Rempe, who was born in Calgary. Another tall Canadian making history in the sports world is tennis player Gabriel Diallo. The 23-year-old born in Montreal, Que., stands at six-foot-eight and became the fourth Canadian ATP Tour Champion this century, in June 2025. In the NBA, 23-year-old Torontonian Zach Edey is considered the tallest player of the 2024-2025 season, at seven-foot-fou. He is playing for the Memphis Grizzlies. At seven-foot-nine, Olivier Rioux, a 19-year-old basketball player from Terrebonne, Que., who is currently playing at the University of Florida in the NCAA, takes the title of world’s tallest teen. The next generation of tall Canadian players continues to grow, as basketball player Jérémy Gohier stands at seven-foot-four at just 14-years-old and dreams of playing in the NBA.