 In the end , the Summit Series conclusively proved that the gap between the best Canadian NHL players and the top national teams of Europe ( USSR , Czechoslovakia , Sweden ) was much narrower than most observers on both sides of the Atlantic had anticipated . The Swedish national team coach Billy Harris ( a former NHL pro with the Toronto Maple Leafs ) later recalled that " the ( Swedish ) media would ask me , ' do you see even one Swedish player who could possibly have a chance in the National Hockey League ? ' I answered , ' No , I see 14 of them ! ' " The success of the 1972 Summit Series would lead to the development of the Canada Cup ice hockey world championship tournament open to both pros and amateurs , starting in 1976 . It also led to regular series of games between Soviet and NHL clubs , known as the Super Series . By the 1980s , an increasing number of players were former members of the Swedish or Czechoslovak national teams . The top Soviet players were finally allowed to sign contracts with NHL clubs in the late 1980s and early 1990s as the USSR crumbled . 
