First Moldovan hockey player in the NHL Youth Draft

Alexander Karmanov in the junior team Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Knights (USA) Photo: instagram.com

Alexander started practicing hockey in his native Chisinau on the ice of the former ice rink “Ice Bravo”. His parents, Igor and Tatiana Carmanova, brought him to the sport. The boy liked hockey so much that he continued practicing. After the closure of the only ice rink in Moldova, the young athlete was sent by his parents to the school of the club “Vityaz” (Podolsk, Moscow region, Russia). Alexander has Moldovan and Russian citizenship, and the trip to the country – “the forge of hockey talents” – looked very logical.

He spent the entire 2023/24 season at Vityaz, playing on the U-16 junior team. During the same period, he strengthened the roster of the Pinskie Hawks club (Belarus). In junior hockey it is quite common for an athlete to play for several clubs (usually two) in parallel. Alexander played in 25 games for Vityaz and Pinskie Yastreby, where he earned 9 points on the goal+pass system (two goals and 7 assists).

After the season Alexander Karmanov enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania (USA) and became a player of the local junior team “Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Knights”, playing in the AYHL (Atlantic Junior Hockey League). The older team plays in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), but the hockey player will be able to move to it only before the start of the 2027/28 season… Unless he becomes a player of an NHL (National Hockey League) club by then.

Prior to the athlete’s arrival, the club released a welcoming statement noting his unusually large stature for hockey. “Despite the trends of modern hockey, Karmanov’s size and strength allow him to have a unique advantage over his opponents. His combination of high hockey IQ and skill has caught the attention of scouts and coaches around the world. In addition, the University of Pennsylvania is getting a player with an excellent work ethic who is willing to work hard both on and off the ice,” the club from Wilkes-Barre, PA, said in a statement.

The Moldovan hockey player can take this season as an asset. As a member of the junior team “Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Knights” he earned 33 points in the system “goal + pass” (15 goals and 18 assists). If he can keep up that performance, NHL scouts won’t be able to pass him up.

Alexander also has a great weight, which is not typical for hockey players – 125 kg (judging by the statements of his father Igor Karmanov). The athlete turned 17 at the end of March, he continues to grow, and his size will clearly surpass both his teammates and opponents. As American experts point out, tall and even heavier hockey players have both advantages and disadvantages. They have long arms, which allows them not to make unnecessary steps in situations where they can simply reach the puck with the stick. At the same time, being tall limits a hockey player’s maneuverability on the ice, and the athlete has little speed. The ability to extend their arms for long distances in the fight for the puck leads to the fact that referees quite often penalize them with fines for accidental contact with the opponent. Jamie Oleksiak, Vincent Desharnais, and other current or former hockey players from top American clubs are prime examples of this. They are over two meters tall, and in controversial situations, referees are usually not on their side when determining a foul.

In turn, Alexander Karmanov at the junior level manages to prove that he doesn’t fit into the usual image of a tall hockey player. According to his coaches, the athlete coordinates his actions perfectly, plays well positionally and loses a little speed. He tries to fit into the trends of modern hockey, such as smooth skating, high intensity play with a lot of power play contact and the need to see the court well. Many experts watching his game are amazed at what a 214-centimeter hockey player can do on the ice.

High height in hockey can lead to severe knee injuries. The fact is that most hockey players who have to face on the field, the center of gravity is much lower, and the forceful technique implemented by such players is extremely dangerous for tall athletes. To avoid this, it is necessary to pay special attention to maneuverability on the court and develop the ability to avoid strong open collisions.

The first ever Moldovan hockey player in the American League (at the junior level so far), Alexandru Carmanov, has very good prospects. In 2026, he will be of age and will be eligible to enter the NHL draft with the possibility of becoming a hockey player for one of the strongest clubs in the United States or Canada. If this happens, the Moldovan athlete will become the tallest in the history of the world’s strongest league, significantly surpassing defenseman Zdeno Hara (Slovakia), whose height at the time of playing in the NHL was 205 cm.

All of Alexander’s thoughts are now focused on the next season, which he will spend in the U.S. Junior League with the Fargo Force (Fargo, North Dakota). RMS Hockey, a publication covering the UNHL and NCAA, called the team’s selection of Karmanov “the most surprising” in the draft, where professional clubs select young players who have never been under contract before.

Fargo Force head coach Brett Skinner noted Karmanov’s outstanding ability following the draft. “He’s a very good hockey player even for his size. Selecting him is a case of looking at a kid at the final stage of the draft and not being able to say with certainty what you can expect from him in a few years. We hope that Alexander will fit our concept of play and we can count on him in the league,” said the coach, himself a former professional hockey player who played in the NHL.

The Fargo Force club plays in the UNHL Western Conference. At the end of the regular season-2024/25 he took 5th place among eight teams, entered the playoffs, which fell out of the first round.

Alexander’s progress is evident. We wish him good luck, to demonstrate his strengths and to get in the sight of NHL clubs in the coming years! For the Republic of Moldova, the participation of its citizen in the world’s leading hockey league will be a truly epochal event.

The tallest current or former world hockey players (from 200 cm)
№	First name / Last name	Height (cm)	Nationality
1	Michal Czajkowski	231	Slovakia
2	Andrei Chibisov	227	Russia
3	Alexander Nikishin	216	Russia
4	Alexander Karmanov	214	Moldova / Russia
5	Pavol Regenda	212	Slovakia
5	Miloš Kelemen	212	Slovakia
5	Marko Danö	212	Slovakia
8	Martin Marincin	209	Slovakia
9	Zdeno Hara	206	Slovakia
10	Stepan Falkovski	205	Belarus
11	Matt Rempe	204	Canada
12-15	Martin Gernat	203	Slovakia
	Samuel Takács	203	Slovakia
	Tyler Myers	203	USA
	Marco Anttila	203	Finland
16-25	Jahim Kondelik	201	Germany
	Ivan Fedotov	201	Russia
	Nikita Tryamkin	201	Russia
	Jamie Oleksiak	201	Canada
	Andrei Sustr	201	Czech Republic
	Ben Bishop	201	USA
	Hal Gill	201	USA
	Christian Kudrock	201	Slovakia
	Joel Prpich	201	Canada
	Chelle Samuelsson	201	Sweden
26	Vasily Koshechkin	200	Russia