The
Summit Series, or
Super Series (in
Russian Суперсерия СССР — Канада), known at the time simply as the
Canada–USSR Series, was an eight-game series of
ice hockey between the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and
Canada, held in September 1972. It was the first competition between the
Soviet national team and a Canadian team represented by professional players of the
National Hockey League (NHL), known as
Team Canada. It was the first international ice hockey competition for Canada after Canada had withdrawn from international ice hockey competitions in a dispute with the
International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The series was organized with the intention to create a true best-on-best competition in the sport of ice hockey. The Soviets had become the dominant team in international competitions, which disallowed the professional players of Canada. Canada had had a long history of dominance of the sport prior to the Soviets' rise.