In international play, Kharlamov represented the Soviet Union at 11 World Championships, winning 8 gold medals, 2 silvers and 1 bronze.

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 ice hockey.

[1] Begoñita, who was born Carmen Orive Abad, was Basque and originally from Bilbao, Spain, but moved to the Soviet Union in 1937 as a child refugee from the Spanish Civil War (see Niños de Rusia).

[citation needed] In 1956, when he was eight-years-old, Kharlamov moved to Spain with his mother, though they both returned to the Soviet Union after several months.

[1] However, Kharlamov, who enjoyed playing football as well, was quite sickly as a youth; in 1961, he was diagnosed with rheumatic fever and doctors ordered him to cease any physical activity, and spent several months in hospital, though he ultimately recovered with no apparent cause nor lingering effects.

In 42 games he scored 37 goals and had 12 assists and finished third in the league in scoring with 49 points; it was during a match in October 1968 that he was first put on a line with Vladimir Petrov and Boris Mikhailov;[8] the three of them would play together for the next years both with CSKA and internationally, forming one of the most famous lines in hockey history.

[9] In the off-season he and his linemates Petrov and Mikhailov were awarded the title of Merited Master of Sport in recognition of winning an international tournament (which would become the Izvestia Cup).

[11] Although Kharlamov never played in North America, he was drafted by the Calgary Broncos of the World Hockey Association, along with Soviet teammates Petrov and Alexander Maltsev in early 1972.

[3] 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.

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'.

"[17] 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.

[17][18] Two years later Kharlamov was in the Soviet lineup again during the 1974 Summit Series, playing against the best Canadian players from the World Hockey Association.

[13] Kharlamov helped the Soviet national ice hockey team to win gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Winter Olympics.

[3] Irina, Kharlamov's wife, was driving back to Moscow from the family's cottage when she lost control and crossed into opposing traffic, hitting a truck head-on.

[2] Fans lined the streets during his funeral procession in Moscow, and they filed past his casket which rested at centre ice of CSKA's arena.

[23] The annual winner of the playoffs in Russia's Junior Hockey League is awarded the Kharlamov Cup.

[27] Kharlamov was posthumously inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Hall of Fame in 1998.

[13] The Milestone Award is given by the IIHF Hall of Fame to teams that have made significant contributions to international hockey.

[28] 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.

[30] Small in stature (he was measured as 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) and 76 kilograms (168 lb) during the Summit Series), Kharlamov was a gifted offensive player.

At that time Kharlamov was unaware he had a son, until he received a phone call from Irina telling him he was the baby's father.

[16] Alexander would also become an ice hockey player, and was selected fifteenth overall by the Washington Capitals in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, though he never played in the NHL, playing in the North American minor leagues where he made a significant contribution to the Hampton Roads Admirals winning the Kelly Cup, and back in Russia before retiring in 2004.