Behemoth blueliner Alexander Karmanov stands two inches higher than the tallest NHL player ever, Zdeno Chara. But there's more to the story for the Moldovan-born player.

For anyone who thought we’d never see anyone as tall as Zdeno Chara in the NHL – well, we still haven’t.

But look out because Russian-Moldovan defenseman Alexandar Karmanov is officially on the radar after committing to Penn State University for the 2027-28 season.

The 6-foot-11, 251-pound blueliner is eligible for the 2026 NHL draft, where he could make history as the first Moldovan to be drafted in the NHL.

He could suit up for the Nittany Lions in 2027, but he would've been the tallest player in the NCAA right now, three inches taller than 6-foot-8 Jack Sparkes at Clarkson.

The craziest part? Karmanov is still only 16, with years of potential growth ahead of him.

Chara, who is the tallest player in NHL history at 6-foot-9, claimed his biggest growth spurt lasted until he was 17.

“When I was 15, I grew 20 centimeters (nearly eight inches) over two years,” a 19-year-old Chara said in 1996.

Hailing from Moldova, a small eastern European country sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, Karmanov isn’t exactly coming from a hockey hotbed.

However, Karmanov has played most of his hockey against top competition in Russia and most recently played for Vityaz Podolsk U-16 in Russia and Pinskiye Yastreby U-18 in Belarus, according to eliteprospects.com.

He posted two goals and nine points through 25 games between the two clubs.

While skating ability is often a concern for players of Karmanov's stature, limited footage suggests he is quite nimble on his feet.

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/p:Cw-KxteITbp[/embed]

His move to North America will be facilitated by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights of the United States Premier Hockey League. Karmanov is expected to suit up for their U-16 AAA squad.

The program isn’t a surprising landing spot for Karmanov, as the club has a history of developing Russian talent, including Ivan Provorov, Denis Smirnov, Nikita Pavlychev and Dmitriy Zaitsev.

According to eliteprospects.com, 14 different players in its database have stood at 6-foot-11. However, Karmanov is the only active player among them.

Remember the name, as he just might make NHL history in a couple of years.

Get the latest news and trending stories right to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or by visiting our forum.