The IIHF announced the nominees for the Women’s Player of the Year.
Jenni Hiirikoski is nominated for Female Player of the Year. Jaakko Stenroos / AOP
Sarah Fillier (Canada), Caroline Harvey (U.S), Jenni Hiirikoski (Finland), Hilary Knight (U.S), Nela Lopusanova (Slovakia), Marie-Philip Poulin (Canada) and Emma Soderberg (Sweden) are nominated for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women’s Player of the Year.
The winner is voted by the media and members who have received an invitation from the IIHF. The winner will be announced on Thursday 1 June. Voters can also vote for a player from outside the list.
According to the IIHF, players who have shown exceptional skill, determination, sportsmanship both on and off the ice during the 2022-2023 season were selected for the candidate list. The success of the team represented by the player was also one of the criteria.
To get on the list, a player had to play in at least one tournament organized by the IIHF during the season.
The most interesting name on the list is probably Lopusanova, who only turned 15 in February.
The striker scored no fewer than 49 (28+21) points in eight games in the Slovakian women’s league. In the Under-18 World Cup, he scored dazzling goals and scored a total of 12 (9+3) points in five games. Lopusanova won the points exchange of the tournament, and was chosen as the most valuable player of the games as the youngest player in history.
The other extreme is represented by the Finnish captain Jenni Hiirikoski, 36, who was the oldest player at the World Cup this year. The defender scored 11 points in seven games. In Sweden, Hiirikoski’s season ended with the championship.
This is the first time that the IIHF has chosen the Female Player of the Year.