Valery Kharlamov
Encyclopedia
Valeri Borisovich Kharlamov was a star ice hockey
player from the Soviet Union
and was considered one of the greatest players in the world. He was voted one of six players to the International Ice Hockey Federation
's (IIHF) Centennial All-Star Team
in a poll conducted by a group of 56 experts from 16 countries. His only son Alexander
is also a former hockey player. Valeri died in a car accident at the age of 33.
of CSKA
on Leningradsky Prospekt
, where his first trainers were Vitaly Erfilov and Andrei Starovoitov. Now it's Valery Kharlamov Specialized Children and Youth Sports School of the Olympic Reserve. At the age of twenty he was invited to the Soviet Union's national team to compete on the world stage. In 1971, playing in the Soviet Union Elite League for CSKA Moscow
, his goal scoring earned him his first "Best Sniper Award" and he was voted to the national All Star team. The following year, Kharlamov gained international recognition when he led his national team to the Gold Medal at the 1972 Winter Olympics
. He capped off the remarkable season by winning the scoring competition and being given the first of his two consecutive Soviet Union MVP
Awards.
, became the star of the hockey world. At Montreal, Quebec, in game one of the eight game international series against the best professionals from Canada, a virtually unknown Kharlamov astonished Canadian fans and their star hockey team with his explosive speed, agility, and goal scoring prowess. Kharlamov was voted the game's MVP after he scored two goals while leading his team to an upset victory that shook the foundations of Canadian professional ice hockey to the core.
Kharlamov was also the most penalized Soviet player in the series, his minutes exceeded only by Canadians Bobby Clarke
and J. P. Parisé, who had an altercation with an official.
In game six of the fiercely fought series, Canada's Bobby Clarke, of the Philadelphia Flyers
, slashed Kharlamov on his left ankle, causing a fracture. Although Kharlamov bravely continued in game six, he was unable to play in game seven and was ineffective in the final game. Some observers say that this injury was a crucial incident which turned the tide of the series in Canada's favour as they entered it losing 3 games to 1 in the series. Commentators believed that constant slashing of Kharlamov was in order to neutralize his goal scoring threat. Years later, John Ferguson, Sr.
, an assistant coach with Team Canada, was quoted as saying "I called Clarke over to the bench, looked over at Kharlamov and said, 'I think he needs a tap on the ankle.' I didn't think twice about it. It was Us versus Them. And Kharlamov was killing us. I mean, somebody had to do it."
By the end of the series, National Hockey League
scouts were drooling at the thought of recruiting Kharlamov, but during this Cold War
era, no Soviet Union player was allowed to leave the country. The respect for Kharlamov's skills was so high that at the time many Canadian children named him as one of their favorite players, and in the Soviet Union he was a national hero and an inspiration for youngsters playing the game.
team of the Soviet Union's premier league, Kharlamov remained a star and was a key part of the Soviet national team that won the World Championship for the next three years. At the 1976 Winter Olympics
, he scored the game winning goal in the final game to earn his second Olympic gold medal. During the North American tour, while playing against the Philadelphia Flyers
in a memorable exhibition game, Kharlamov was knocked out by a hard hit from the Flyers' Ed Van Impe
, causing his teammates to leave the ice in protest.
Later that spring, he was seriously injured in a car accident and for a time, his hockey career seemed in doubt. He was unable to play in the 1976 Canada Cup
and, though he recovered sufficiently to return to the Soviet national team in the coming years, he was never again the player he once had been. He was a part of the Soviet Union team that lost to the "Miracle on Ice
" U.S. team in the medal round at the 1980 Winter Olympics
in Lake Placid
, but won the silver medal. In August 1981, another automobile accident took his life at the age of thirty-three. Valeri Kharlamov is interred in the Novokuntsevskoe Cemetery in Moscow.
(IIHF) Hall of Fame.
In November 2005, Kharlamov was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
along with Cam Neely
and former Hockey Canada
president Murray Costello
; Kharlamov became only the second non-NHL player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (the other is former teammate Vladislav Tretiak
).
Each year, the Kharlamov Trophy
is awarded to the best Russian NHL player as voted by all Russian NHL players.
The Kontinental Hockey League
has a division bearing his name. The main trophy of the Minor Hockey League is named the Kharlamov Cup
.
Russian hockey players Ilya Kovalchuk
and Evgeni Malkin
wear the #17 and #71 (reversed 17) respectively, in honour of Kharlamov. The number is retired by both HC CSKA Moscow
and the Russian national men's ice hockey team.
American journeyman
hockey player Todd Harkins
portrayed Kharlamov in the 2004 movie Miracle
about the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey team's
medal round win over the Soviet Union.
. She was one of the niños de la guerra (war children) who arrived in the USSR as war refugees during Spanish Civil War
.
Career highlights - personal:
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and was considered one of the greatest players in the world. He was voted one of six players to the International Ice Hockey Federation
International Ice Hockey Federation
The International Ice Hockey Federation is the worldwide governing body for ice hockey and in-line hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 70 members...
's (IIHF) Centennial All-Star Team
IIHF Centennial All-Star Team
The IIHF Centennial All-Star Team is an all-star team of hockey players from international ice hockey tournaments. The selection was organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation and named in 2008...
in a poll conducted by a group of 56 experts from 16 countries. His only son Alexander
Alexander Kharlamov
Aleksandr Valeryevich Kharlamov .Born September 23, 1975, in Moscow, a former Russian ice hockey player who was a first-round pick of the Washington Capitals in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He is the son of the late Soviet hockey star Valeri Kharlamov....
is also a former hockey player. Valeri died in a car accident at the age of 33.
Playing career
Kharlamov began systematic training to play hockey at age 14, when he was admitted to the Children and Youth Sports SchoolChildren and Youth Sports School
Sports school is a type of educational institution for children that originated in the Soviet Union. Sports schools were the basis of the powerful system of physical culture and sports education of the USSR...
of CSKA
HC CSKA Moscow
HC CSKA Moscow is a Russian ice hockey club that plays in the Kontinental Hockey League. It is referred to in the West as "Central Red Army" or the "Red Army Team" for its past affiliation with the Soviet Army, popularly known as the Red Army...
on Leningradsky Prospekt
Leningradsky Prospekt
Leningradsky Prospekt , or Leningrad Avenue, is a major arterial avenue in Moscow, Russia. It continues the path of Tverskaya Street and 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street north-west from Belorussky Rail Terminal, and changes the name once again to Leningrad Highway past the Sokol metro station...
, where his first trainers were Vitaly Erfilov and Andrei Starovoitov. Now it's Valery Kharlamov Specialized Children and Youth Sports School of the Olympic Reserve. At the age of twenty he was invited to the Soviet Union's national team to compete on the world stage. In 1971, playing in the Soviet Union Elite League for CSKA Moscow
HC CSKA Moscow
HC CSKA Moscow is a Russian ice hockey club that plays in the Kontinental Hockey League. It is referred to in the West as "Central Red Army" or the "Red Army Team" for its past affiliation with the Soviet Army, popularly known as the Red Army...
, his goal scoring earned him his first "Best Sniper Award" and he was voted to the national All Star team. The following year, Kharlamov gained international recognition when he led his national team to the Gold Medal at the 1972 Winter Olympics
1972 Winter Olympics
The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 3 to February 13, 1972 in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan...
. He capped off the remarkable season by winning the scoring competition and being given the first of his two consecutive Soviet Union MVP
Soviet MVP (hockey)
The following is a list of the Most Valuable Players in the Soviet ice hockey league, which existed from 1946 to 1991 .*1967-68 Anatoli Firsov*1968-69 Anatoli Firsov*1969-70 Viktor Konovalenko*1970-71 Anatoli Firsov...
Awards.
Summit Series
However, it was during the 1972 Summit Series that Valery Kharlamov, along with teammate Vladislav TretiakVladislav Tretiak
Vladislav Aleksandrovich Tretiak, MSM is a former goaltender for the Soviet Union's national ice hockey team. Considered to be one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the sport, he was voted one of six players to the International Ice Hockey Federation's Centennial All-Star Team in a...
, became the star of the hockey world. At Montreal, Quebec, in game one of the eight game international series against the best professionals from Canada, a virtually unknown Kharlamov astonished Canadian fans and their star hockey team with his explosive speed, agility, and goal scoring prowess. Kharlamov was voted the game's MVP after he scored two goals while leading his team to an upset victory that shook the foundations of Canadian professional ice hockey to the core.
Kharlamov was also the most penalized Soviet player in the series, his minutes exceeded only by Canadians Bobby Clarke
Bobby Clarke
Robert Earle Clarke, OC , better known as Bobby Clarke or, in later life, Bob Clarke, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played his entire National Hockey League career with the Philadelphia Flyers and is currently an executive with the team...
and J. P. Parisé, who had an altercation with an official.
In game six of the fiercely fought series, Canada's Bobby Clarke, of the Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, slashed Kharlamov on his left ankle, causing a fracture. Although Kharlamov bravely continued in game six, he was unable to play in game seven and was ineffective in the final game. Some observers say that this injury was a crucial incident which turned the tide of the series in Canada's favour as they entered it losing 3 games to 1 in the series. Commentators believed that constant slashing of Kharlamov was in order to neutralize his goal scoring threat. Years later, John Ferguson, Sr.
John Ferguson, Sr.
John Bowie "Fergy" Ferguson Sr. was a professional ice hockey player. Ferguson played as a left-winger for the Montreal Canadiens from 1963 to 1971.-Early years:...
, an assistant coach with Team Canada, was quoted as saying "I called Clarke over to the bench, looked over at Kharlamov and said, 'I think he needs a tap on the ankle.' I didn't think twice about it. It was Us versus Them. And Kharlamov was killing us. I mean, somebody had to do it."
By the end of the series, National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
scouts were drooling at the thought of recruiting Kharlamov, but during this Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era, no Soviet Union player was allowed to leave the country. The respect for Kharlamov's skills was so high that at the time many Canadian children named him as one of their favorite players, and in the Soviet Union he was a national hero and an inspiration for youngsters playing the game.
Later career and death
In 1973, playing with the CSKAHC CSKA Moscow
HC CSKA Moscow is a Russian ice hockey club that plays in the Kontinental Hockey League. It is referred to in the West as "Central Red Army" or the "Red Army Team" for its past affiliation with the Soviet Army, popularly known as the Red Army...
team of the Soviet Union's premier league, Kharlamov remained a star and was a key part of the Soviet national team that won the World Championship for the next three years. At the 1976 Winter Olympics
1976 Winter Olympics
The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 4–15, 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria...
, he scored the game winning goal in the final game to earn his second Olympic gold medal. During the North American tour, while playing against the Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
in a memorable exhibition game, Kharlamov was knocked out by a hard hit from the Flyers' Ed Van Impe
Ed Van Impe
Edward Charles Van Impe is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins.-Playing career:...
, causing his teammates to leave the ice in protest.
Later that spring, he was seriously injured in a car accident and for a time, his hockey career seemed in doubt. He was unable to play in the 1976 Canada Cup
1976 Canada Cup
The 1976 Canada Cup was an international ice hockey tournament held September 2–15, 1976, in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg and Quebec, Canada as well as in Philadelphia, United States. It was the first of five Canada Cup tournaments held between 1976 and 1991...
and, though he recovered sufficiently to return to the Soviet national team in the coming years, he was never again the player he once had been. He was a part of the Soviet Union team that lost to the "Miracle on Ice
Miracle on Ice
The "Miracle on Ice" is the name in American popular culture for a medal-round men's ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, on Friday, February 22...
" U.S. team in the medal round at the 1980 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics was held at the Olympic Arena and the Olympic Fieldhouse in Lake Placid, New York. Twelve teams competed in the tournament, which was held from February 12 to February 24...
in Lake Placid
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
, but won the silver medal. In August 1981, another automobile accident took his life at the age of thirty-three. Valeri Kharlamov is interred in the Novokuntsevskoe Cemetery in Moscow.
Honors
In 1998, Valeri Kharlamov was posthumously inducted into the International Ice Hockey FederationInternational Ice Hockey Federation
The International Ice Hockey Federation is the worldwide governing body for ice hockey and in-line hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 70 members...
(IIHF) Hall of Fame.
In November 2005, Kharlamov was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
along with Cam Neely
Cam Neely
Cameron Michael Neely is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played right wing for the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League from 1983 to 1996. He currently serves as the president of the Boston Bruins.-Playing career:Cam Neely was born in Comox,...
and former Hockey Canada
Hockey Canada
Hockey Canada, formally known as the Canadian Hockey Association, is the national governing body of ice hockey in Canada and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Hockey Canada controls a vast majority of ice hockey in Canada, with a few exceptions...
president Murray Costello
Murray Costello
Murray Costello was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005 as a builder. He was president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association then Hockey Canada...
; Kharlamov became only the second non-NHL player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (the other is former teammate Vladislav Tretiak
Vladislav Tretiak
Vladislav Aleksandrovich Tretiak, MSM is a former goaltender for the Soviet Union's national ice hockey team. Considered to be one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the sport, he was voted one of six players to the International Ice Hockey Federation's Centennial All-Star Team in a...
).
Each year, the Kharlamov Trophy
Kharlamov Trophy
The Kharlamov Trophy is an NHL award given to the most valuable Russian NHL player. Named after Valeri Kharlamov a star ice hockey player from the Soviet Union and is considered one of their greatest players....
is awarded to the best Russian NHL player as voted by all Russian NHL players.
The Kontinental Hockey League
Kontinental Hockey League
The Kontinental Hockey League is an international professional ice hockey league in Eurasia founded in 2008. As of 2009, it is ranked as the strongest hockey league in Europe....
has a division bearing his name. The main trophy of the Minor Hockey League is named the Kharlamov Cup
Kharlamov Cup
The Kharlamov Cup is the trophy presented to the winner of the Minor Hockey League playoffs, and is named after ice hockey player Valeri Kharlamov, considered to be one of the greatest ice hockey players of the World....
.
Russian hockey players Ilya Kovalchuk
Ilya Kovalchuk
Ilya Valerevich Kovalchuk is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger who is an alternate captain of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League. Drafted first overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Atlanta Thrashers, he began his NHL career in 2001–02 with Atlanta and was...
and Evgeni Malkin
Evgeni Malkin
Evgeni "Geno" Vladimirovich Malkin is a Russian professional ice hockey center and alternate captain for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League ....
wear the #17 and #71 (reversed 17) respectively, in honour of Kharlamov. The number is retired by both HC CSKA Moscow
HC CSKA Moscow
HC CSKA Moscow is a Russian ice hockey club that plays in the Kontinental Hockey League. It is referred to in the West as "Central Red Army" or the "Red Army Team" for its past affiliation with the Soviet Army, popularly known as the Red Army...
and the Russian national men's ice hockey team.
American journeyman
Journeyman
A journeyman is someone who completed an apprenticeship and was fully educated in a trade or craft, but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as a master....
hockey player Todd Harkins
Todd Harkins
Todd Michael Harkins is a retired American professional ice hockey player who played 48 National Hockey League games for the Calgary Flames and Hartford Whalers. Harkins was drafted by the Flames in the 2nd round, 42nd overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft...
portrayed Kharlamov in the 2004 movie Miracle
Miracle (film)
Miracle is a 2004 American biographical sports film about the United States men's hockey team, led by head coach Herb Brooks, that won the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics. The USA team's victory over the heavily favored Soviet team in the medal round was dubbed the Miracle on Ice...
about the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey team's
Miracle on Ice
The "Miracle on Ice" is the name in American popular culture for a medal-round men's ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, on Friday, February 22...
medal round win over the Soviet Union.
Family
His mother, Begoña, was a Spaniard BasqueBasque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
. She was one of the niños de la guerra (war children) who arrived in the USSR as war refugees during Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
.
Awards
Career highlights - team:- 11-time winner of the USSR championship
- 8-time winner of the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship
- 2-time winner of the Olympics Games Gold Medal
Career highlights - personal:
- National awards:
- MVP USSR League 1972, 1973
- USSR All Stars 1971-1976, 1978
- Scoring champion (goals) 1971
- Scoring champion (points) 1972
- International awards:
- Voted "Best Forward" at the 1976 World Championship
- IIHF All Star: 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976
- Inducted into Hockey Hall of FameHockey Hall of FameThe Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
in 2005; to date, he and Vladislav TretiakVladislav TretiakVladislav Aleksandrovich Tretiak, MSM is a former goaltender for the Soviet Union's national ice hockey team. Considered to be one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the sport, he was voted one of six players to the International Ice Hockey Federation's Centennial All-Star Team in a...
are the only non-NHLNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
players in the Hockey Hall of Fame inducted as players, and the only two players who played exclusively behind the Iron CurtainIron CurtainThe concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
Career statistics
| Regular season | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
|
| 1967–68 | CSKA Moscow HC CSKA Moscow HC CSKA Moscow is a Russian ice hockey club that plays in the Kontinental Hockey League. It is referred to in the West as "Central Red Army" or the "Red Army Team" for its past affiliation with the Soviet Army, popularly known as the Red Army... |
Soviet | 15 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1968–69 | CSKA Moscow | Soviet | 42 | 37 | 12 | 49 | 24 | |
| 1969–70 | CSKA Moscow | Soviet | 33 | 33 | 10 | 43 | 16 | |
| 1970–71 | CSKA Moscow | Soviet | 34 | 40 | 12 | 52 | 18 | |
| 1971–72 | CSKA Moscow | Soviet | 31 | 24 | 16 | 40 | 22 | |
| 1972–73 | CSKA Moscow | Soviet | 27 | 19 | 13 | 32 | 22 | |
| 1973–74 | CSKA Moscow | Soviet | 26 | 20 | 10 | 30 | 28 | |
| 1974–75 | CSKA Moscow | Soviet | 31 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 35 | |
| 1975–76 | CSKA Moscow | Soviet | 34 | 18 | 18 | 36 | 6 | |
| 1976–77 | CSKA Moscow | Soviet | 21 | 18 | 8 | 26 | 16 | |
| 1977–78 | CSKA Moscow | Soviet | 29 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 35 | |
| 1978–79 | CSKA Moscow | Soviet | 41 | 22 | 26 | 48 | 36 | |
| 1979–80 | CSKA Moscow | Soviet | 41 | 16 | 22 | 38 | 40 | |
| 1980–81 | CSKA Moscow | Soviet | 30 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 14 | |
| Soviet totals | 438 | 293 | 214 | 507 | 318 | |||