Sharks take 7-foot-1 defenseman in Round 7, tallest draft pick in NHL history

The NBA has Wemby. The NHL may one day have Karmy.

The San Jose Sharks selected 7-foot-1, 272-pound defenseman Alexander Karmanov with the 201st pick of the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft on Saturday during the seventh round.

The Sharks made sure fans knew they weren't seeing a typo.

Karmanov, an 18-year-old out of Chisinau, Moldova, is the tallest player ever drafted into the NHL. He is also the first player ever drafted from Moldova.

The tallest player ever to win a Stanley Cup was 6-foot-9 Zdeno Chara, a 2025 inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The tallest active player is New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe, who is also 6-foot-9.

The Sharks shared a full scouting report video on Karmanov featuring a breakdown from NHL.com's Adam Kimmelman.

While the Sharks went with some record-breaking size, the Winnipeg Jets also made history, drafting the first-ever player of Samoan decent, defenseman Alofa Tunoa Ta'amu, with the 199th pick.

Ta'amu's father, Ed, was a fourth round pick of the NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.