{"id":3436,"date":"2026-07-01T06:07:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T06:07:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3436"},"modified":"2026-07-01T06:07:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T06:07:18","slug":"sharks-new-7-foot-defenseman-makes-even-jumbo-joe-look-small-hes-huge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3436","title":{"rendered":"Sharks’ new 7-foot defenseman makes even Jumbo Joe look small: ‘He’s huge’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SAN JOSE \u2014 The big question on the brain at the first Sharks development camp practice on Tuesday was simple.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Roupp\u2019s short outing, Chapman\u2019s injury define SF Giants\u2019 eighth straight loss to Diamondbacks<\/a><\/p>\n

Have you ever seen a 7-foot hockey player?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d said San Jose Barracuda coach John McCarthy, who was taking in the proceedings with the Sharks\u2019 prospects. \u201cThat\u2019s the first one.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a first for just about anyone around the Sharks practice rink at SAP Center, an eye-popping, jarring sight as new San Jose draft pick Alexander Karmanov skated around the ice with Sharks legend Joe Thornton.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thornton, at 6-foot-4, earned the nickname \u201cJumbo Joe\u201d during his playing career. Standing next to the 7-foot-1 Karmanov, whom the Sharks selected 201st overall, he looked more like bite-size Joe.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s huge,\u201d second-overall pick Ivar Stenberg said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t on the ice with him, but I saw him in the gym. Good guy, and yeah, big guy. For sure, he\u2019s one of the biggest guys I\u2019ve ever seen, so yeah, that\u2019s fun to see.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Karmanov\u2019s exceptional size \u2013 he\u2019s not just tall, but also stout at 280 pounds \u2013 could be an unprecedented weapon for the Sharks down the road. Were he to make the NHL roster one day, he would become the tallest player to lace up his skates in hockey\u2019s best league.<\/span><\/p>\n

But he has a long way to go to reach that potential, and those skates will have a lot to do with whether he gets there. Achieving his NHL dream will require undertaking the massive project of improving his skating and puck-handling skills, which are a definite work in progress at this point.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Getting his feet up to par would help him reach heights the league has never seen before. The tallest players in NHL history \u2013 Zdeno Chara, Matt Rempe and Viktor Svedberg \u2013 all measure 6-foot-9.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPuck skills, stick skills, every skill,\u201d McCarthy said of traits Karnamov needs to develop. \u201cA lot of our development plans, there\u2019s an emphasis on different areas, but a lot of them are pretty standardized. Puck skills, using his stick defensively. Obviously physically he has the size, so just those little things that we talk about with a lot of our defensemen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more On the Fourth, Saratoga brings American history to life, one costume at a time<\/a><\/p>\n

One area of Karmanov\u2019s game that shouldn\u2019t be a problem is physicality, but even that is a double-edged sword. At the 18-year-old Moldovan\u2019s height, even a simple shoulder check could connect in the head or neck area.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rempe has gained a reputation during his brief tenure in the league for hard hits, but the sheer scale of his frame makes him more likely to take penalties given how much shorter his opponents are.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

McCarthy didn\u2019t seem too concerned that Karmanov would have similar problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s ways that you can coach around that,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cHave an active stick, and make sure you\u2019re keeping your hands down. There\u2019s different things you can do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Stenberg also hit the ice for the first time since being drafted on Friday, and he drew a crowd wherever he went.<\/span><\/p>\n

A group of children, including some youth hockey players in the stands, chanted his name each time he touched the puck, and he didn\u2019t disappoint, showcasing his skating ability and skill of what he could provide this fall as the Sharks\u2019 third-consecutive top-two pick.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been super cool,\u201d Stenberg said. \u201cSuper fun for sure. I\u2019ve been dreaming of this moment my whole life, and I\u2019m here. So yeah, it\u2019s super fun, and I\u2019m super happy about it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Asked if he had heard a group of kids chant his name before, Stenberg said he had. Not a shock, given how successful he was with Frolunda in Sweden, where he scored 33 points in 43 games last season.<\/span><\/p>\n

But trademark Swedish humility still shone through as he emphasized, \u201cNot too many times.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more SF Giants\u2019 Chapman leaves game vs. Diamondbacks with apparent injury<\/a><\/p>\n

There could be a few more in his future if he has the career many expect.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

San Jose Sharks’ late-round draft pick Alexander Karmanov turned heads during his first skate at Sharks dev camp. Plus, No. 2 pick Ivar Stenberg takes the ice in teal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nSharks’ new 7-foot defenseman makes even Jumbo Joe look small: ‘He’s huge’ - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3436\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sharks’ new 7-foot defenseman makes even Jumbo Joe look small: ‘He’s huge’ - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"San Jose Sharks' late-round draft pick Alexander Karmanov turned heads during his first skate at Sharks dev camp. 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