IIHF Hall of Fame 2019: Hayley Wickenheiser, Mike Modano, Miroslav Satan highlight new class

Jackie Spiegel

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IIHF Hall of Fame 2019: Hayley Wickenheiser, Mike Modano, Miroslav Satan highlight new class image

It was rightfully so that on National Girls and Women's in Sports Day, Hayley Wickenheiser finally found her place in the IIHF Hall of Fame.

Wickenheiser, the most decorated women's hockey player of all time, highlights the 2019 class that also includes USA Hockey's Mike Modano and Slovakia's Zigmund Palffy and Miroslav Satan.

A legend and trailblazer, Wickenheiser captured five Olympic medals (four gold, one silver) and 13 world championship medals (seven gold, six silver) over the course of 22 years with Hockey Canada on the international stage.

MORE: Hayley Wickenheiser redefines NHL norms with Maple Leafs

When she retired in 2017, "Wick" left it all on the ice. The two-time Olympic MVP (2002, 2006) holds eight Olympic records, is the tournament's all-time scoring leader with 51 points in 26 games and is the only athlete to appear in five Winter Olympics.

The Shaunavon, Sask., native made her Team Canada debut at the age of 15 at the 1994 World Championships. She piled up 86 points in 61 career games in the tournament, the most all time.

Now the assistant director of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Wickenheiser was the first woman who wasn't a goalie to play — and score — in a professional men's game.

As the IIHF's announcement stated, "What was it about her? In a word – everything."

Modano retired retired from the NHL with 1,374 career points (second-best among American skaters) and a Stanley Cup, and also left his mark on the international stage. 

Modano first suited up for USA Hockey at the 1989 World Junior Championship and scored 15 points in seven games. His lasting memory playing for the Red, White and Blue was in 1996 when he was a member of the American team that shocked Canada at the inaugural World Cup of Hockey. 

A 2014 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, Modano skated for the U.S. at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Olympics and won silver in Salt Lake City.

Palffy and Satan both had solid NHL careers and now enter the IIHF Hall of Fame together for their tenure with Slovakia's ice hockey program. 

Palffy, who had 713 points in 684 career NHL games, initially led Slovakia to the bronze medal at the 1991 World Junior Championship. A member of Slovakia's inaugural Olympic team in 1994, and a three-time Olympian, his shining moment was in 2002 at the World Championships. After Slovakia defeated Canada in the quarterfinals, Palffy scored the game-winning shootout goal in the semis and set up Peter Bondra for the game-winning goal in the gold medal game.

Countryman Satan, who played with Palffy at the 1994 Olympics and led the tournament with nine goals, also competed for Slovakia at the 1996 World Championships and the 1996 World Cup. Originally a draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 1993, Satan made his name in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres. Named the 2000 World Championship MVP for the silver-medal winning Slovaks, the nine-time captain led his country to the gold medal two years later.

One of only two players to win silver in 2000, gold in 2002, and silver in 2012 along with Michael Handzus, Satan captured the Stanley Cup in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Since retiring he has maintained a prescence on the international stage as the general manager for the silver-medal winning Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup and the current GM of the Slovakia national team program.

Also among the inductees are Sweden's Jorgen Jonsson in the player's category and the late Boris Alexandrov, who was a national coach for Kazakhstan as a builder.

USA Hockey's Jim "JJ" Johannson was named the recipient of the Paul Loicq Award for his outstanding contributions to international hockey. Johansson, who sadly passed away a month before the 2018 Olympics, was responsible for building the U18 men's program and the selection of USA Hockey's 2010, 2014, and 2018 men's Olympic teams.

Konstantin Mihaylov, a former Bulgarian netminder, was awarded the Richard “Bibi” Torriani Award. 

The induction ceremony will be May 26 in Bratislava during World Championships.

Jackie Spiegel