San Jose Sharks Draft 7-Foot-1 Defenseman, the Tallest Prospect in NHL History

The San Jose Sharks just did something no NHL team has done before. They drafted the tallest player in league history.

With their seventh-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, the Sharks selected defenseman Alexander Karmanov. He stands 7-foot-1 and weighs 280 pounds. That makes him five inches taller than Hall of Famer Zdeno Chara, who had been the tallest player to ever play in the league. Matt Rempe of the New York Rangers and former Blackhawk Viktor Svedberg are both 6-9, but Karmanov is on another level entirely.

Karmanov played junior hockey last season for the Branford Titans and the North Bay Battalion. He’s raw, obviously. But you can’t teach size, and the Sharks are betting his frame could eventually translate into something real at the NHL level. If he ever cracks a roster, he’d immediately become the tallest player in league history.

The Sharks are already trending up

San Jose isn’t just making history with a late-round flier. This is a team that’s quietly building something. The Sharks nearly made the playoffs in 2025-26, finishing fifth in the Pacific Division with a 39-35-8 record. That’s the closest they’ve been to the postseason since 2018-19.

A lot of that has to do with Macklin Celebrini. The second-year superstar is exactly what the franchise needed. He’s the kind of player who changes the entire vibe. Around him, the Sharks have Will Smith and Alexander Wennberg. Tyler Toffoli is still there as a proven goal scorer. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky has this group playing like they actually believe in themselves.

In the first round, San Jose grabbed winger Ivar Stenberg with the No. 2 overall pick. He’s a brilliant skater with excellent offensive instincts, and he looks like a future star who will team up with Celebrini to lead the franchise. They also took big defenseman Keaton Verhoeff with the No. 9 pick.

But the seventh-round pick is the one making headlines. Karmanov is a project, and the Sharks know that. They didn’t draft him expecting him to play next season. But if he develops, they just got a 7-foot-1 defenseman in the seventh round. That’s the kind of swing you take when you’ve already got your core pieces.

Whether Karmanov ever makes it to the NHL is anyone’s guess. But for now, he’s already made history on draft day.