Karmanov a big addition
It could be termed the biggest acquisition in North Bay Battalion history.
The Ontario Hockey League club has signed left-shot defenceman Alexander Karmanov to an education and development agreement after securing his rights from the Brantford Titans of the Greater Ontario Hockey League.
Karmanov, who stands seven feet and weighs 265 pounds, will become the tallest player in Canadian Hockey League annals when he makes his Battalion debut.
A native of Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, who turned 17 on March 22, Karmanov is the world’s tallest active registered hockey player. The first Moldovan to be chosen in the CHL Import Draft, he will be the first to play in the OHL.
“This guy wants to be a hockey player,” coach Ryan Oulahen said Wednesday before getting his first look at the newly arrived Karmanov at practice, where he was to start receiving special attention from assistant coach Bill Houlder before joining the lineup.
“How he’s come so far in just like three or four months in the season is remarkable,” Oulahen noted of Karmanov. “He’s going to take some time here, but it’s somebody that we put into day-to-day work and gets up to our pace and our style and things that we want to do and how we want to play. He’s a pretty cool addition.”
Adam Dennis, director of hockey operations, acknowledged that it could be two weeks before Karmanov plays a game, and Oulahen was of the same mind.
“We’ll have to see,” said Ouahen. “He’s here for practice today. I think there’s no expectations. I think putting in some good work with Billy here for a little bit is really going to help him, and then we’ll see kind of where it goes, but we feel like he’s a guy that can really help us at some point this season.
“He has a skill set to him. He can move the puck. He’s got hands. He can really shoot. Obviously, his shot when he gets it off is extremely hard and heavy. It’s pretty remarkable for a big man and how big and how young he is. He hasn’t even filled out that frame and he can move the way he moves, so I’m intrigued.”
In addition to conferring with Bronson Ride, the Troops’ six-foot-seven, fifth-year defender, Karmanov values the tutelage offered by Houlder, a veteran of 846 National Hockey League games.
“It’s a big step in my career, the opportunity to be better, to have progress. A lot of work for me with him is a great opportunity, and it’s very good for my development. The small details he will teach me are very important as a defenceman.”
Karmanov was selected by the Brantford Bulldogs in the third round, 137th overall after some teams passed, of the CHL Import Draft on July 2. But Brantford opted to retain centre Adam Benak and defencemen Adam Jiricek and Vladimir Dravecky, all Czechs, as its three imports, leaving Karmanov to join the Titans.
In 15 games this season with the junior B club, he scored three goals and earned four assists for seven points with 68 penalty minutes. He skated in 2024-25 with the Pennsylvania-based Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights 16U team, scoring 16 goals and adding 18 assists for 34 points with 62 PiM in 36 games. He played in Russia and Belarus in 2023-24.
Karmanov is a Penn State commit for 2027-28.
The trade last Friday of Ihnat Pazii, a Ukrainian left winger and centre, to the Flint Firebirds for centre Kaden Pitre reduced North Bay’s import contingent to centre Evgeny Dubrovtsev of Russia and left winger Arseny Pronin of Belarus.
“Alex is someone we’ve had our eyes on for a while now, and we were well aware of him coming into the Import Draft,” said Dennis.
“With our recent trade, we began to explore opportunities to fill the open import spot that was held by Pazii. We felt that Alex was the right fit to grow with Evgeny and Arseny as well as the rest of our strong core of young players. He’s an imposing figure with strong character and an excellent work ethic.
“Alex has been improving at a rapid pace since coming to North America and brings with him a lot of raw tools that require patience and attention that we look forward to providing.”
The tallest players in NHL history are Hall of Fame rearguard Zdeno Chara and current centres Matt Rempe of the New York Rangers and Curtis Douglas of the Tampa Bay Lightning at six-foot-nine. Chara played for former Battalion coach Stan Butler in 1996-97 with the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League.
