page_title: Valeri Kharlamov
section_title: Legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Valeri Kharlamov / Legacy
caption_attribution_description: Русский: памятник Валерию Харламову на аллее Славы спорткомплекса «Лужники» в Москве
context_page_description: Valeri Borisovich Kharlamov was an ice hockey forward who played for CSKA Moscow in the Soviet League from 1967 until his death in 1981. Although small in stature, Kharlamov was speedy, intelligent and skilled and a dominant player, being named the Soviet Championship League most valuable player in 1972 and 1973. An offensive player, who was considered very creative and intelligent on the ice, he also led the league in scoring in 1972. He was also a gifted skater who was able to make plays at top speed. Kharlamov was considered one of the best players of his era, as well as one of the greatest players of all time.
  In international play, Kharlamov represented the Soviet Union at 11 World Championships, winning 8 gold medals, 2 silvers and 1 bronze. He participated in three Olympics, 1972, 1976 and 1980, finishing with two gold medals and a silver, and participated in the 1972 Summit Series against Canada. He spent most of his career playing on a line with Vladimir Petrov and Boris Mikhailov, and this trio is considered one of the best in the history of hockey.
  Kharlamov was killed in a car accident in 1981.
context_section_description: After his death, Kharlamov's teammates with CSKA decided that no one at any level of the organization would wear Kharlamov's #17 sweater, until his son Alexander was old enough to wear it. Alexander wore #17 until he was a teenager, but later switched to #22, feeling that the expectations that went along with his father's sweater number were too great. When he found himself playing for Tikhonov with the CSKA in 1992, the decision was taken away from him, and he was issued the #17 sweater. After initially being reluctant, Alexander said "Now I am used to it. I felt an additional burden on my shoulders. But now I don't feel anything like that." The #17 is not worn by any member of the Russian national team at senior international competitions. Ilya Kovalchuk usually wears #17 in honour of Kharlamov, his father's favorite player.
  In his memory, Sovetsky Sport established the Kharlamov Trophy in 2002; it is awarded annually to the best Russian player in the National Hockey League, as selected by the Russian players in the league. The annual winner of the playoffs in Russia's Junior Hockey League is awarded the Kharlamov Cup. The trophy features a figure modeled after Kharlamov at the top. One of the divisions in the Eastern Conference of the Kontinental Hockey League is named in his honor as well. In 2013, director Nikolay Lebedev released the biopic "Legend No 17", with Danila Kozlovsky portraying Kharlamov for most of the film. "Legend No 17" was nominated for 11 Golden Eagle Awards in 2013, and captured 6 of them, including Best Screenplay. The movie has been described as a personal favourite of Vladimir Putin.
  Kharlamov was posthumously inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Hall of Fame in 1998. The Milestone Award is given by the IIHF Hall of Fame to teams that have made significant contributions to international hockey. In 2012, Kharlamov's 1972 Summit Series Soviet Union team was given this honor. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the IIHF in 2008, a panel of experts named Kharlamov to the Centennial All-Star Team, along with three other Soviet stars, Vladislav Tretiak, Viacheslav Fetisov and Sergei Makarov. Kharlamov was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005. His induction was met with praise from one of the players who idolized him, Ilya Kovalchuk, who said "He should have been there many years ago. I think he was one of the best players in the world."  Kharlamov was the second Soviet trained player, after Tretiak, to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Upon hearing the news of his father's induction, Alexander Kharlamov said "I want to say thank you for remembering my father." In 2014, Kharlamov was part of the inaugural class inducted into the Russian Hockey Hall of Fame.
caption: Monument to Valeri Kharlamov in Moscow
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