the Soviet Union was the 1969 World Championship, where he helped the team capture the gold medal. Kharlamov was a fixture on the Soviet national team roster for the next decade. He played in eleven World Championships in total, capturing 8 gold medals, 2 silvers and 1 bronze. He was named to the tournament All-Star team four times (1971, 1972, 1973, and 1976). He played a total of 105 games in the World Championships, scoring 74 goals and adding 82 assists (156 points). Summit Series As World Championships were commonly played in Europe, and National Hockey League (NHL) players were not allowed to participate in the Olympics either, Kharlamov and his teammates were still a somewhat unknown quantity when the 1972 Summit Series was played. The eight game series, with four games played in Canada, and four in the Soviet Union was one of the first opportunities for the two countries to put their best hockey players against each other. Most pundits thought Canada would win convincingly. In the first game of the series, the Soviet Union stunned Canada with a 7–3 victory. Kharlamov scored two goals on Ken Dryden during the second period, and was named the game's Most Valuable Player. Fresh observers of Kharlamov's play were universally impressed. Summit Series defenceman Serge Savard ranked him as one of the top 5 players of all time. Team Canada head coach Harry Sinden would later say of Kharlamov, "He had the skill and the ability of any player in the NHL at the time." In the sixth game of the series, Bobby Clarke slashed Kharlamov, fracturing a bone in his ankle. He would miss the seventh game of the series, and returned to the lineup for the final game of the series, but at much reduced effectiveness. At the time, many felt the slash was intentional. Assistant coach John Ferguson would later say "I called (Bobby) Clarke over to the bench, looked over at Kharlamov and said, 'I think he needs a tap on the ankle'." As for Kharlamov himself, he had little doubt that an attempt had been made to limit his effectiveness, "I'm convinced that Bobby Clarke was given the job of taking me out of the game." Kharlamov's injury, and his diminished play in the aftermath have been regarded as a turning point for the series in Canada's favour, who won the series in the eighth and