The four-time Olympic gold medallist and seven-time world champion, widely regarded as the most successful female hockey player of all time, joins the exclusive club along with Sweden’s Jorgen Jonsson, American legend Mike Modano and Slovakians Žigmund Pálffy and Miroslav Šatan.

The induction ceremony is due to be held in Slovakia's capital Bratislava on May 26, prior to the medal games of the 2019 IIHF World Championship.

Wickenheiser is the all-time leader in scoring at both the Olympics - 51 points in 26 games - and the IIHF Women’s World Championship - 86 points in 61 games - while her haul of 13 global medals, made up of seven golds and six silvers, is larger than that of any other woman.

Her tally of four Olympic gold medals is also a record and no athlete has appeared at more Winter Games than her five.

Wickenheiser was named the Most Valuable Player at the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City and Turin respectively. 

The last game of her 22-year career came at the 2016 IIHF Women’s World Championship, when hosts Canada were beaten by the US in the final.

"I spent most of my life playing international hockey and have lived and played abroad, seeing many hockey cultures around the world," Wickenheiser, now a member of the the International Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission, told The Canadian Press following the announcement.

"This is a great honour to be included in the International Hockey Hall of Fame. 

"It represents the best the world of hockey has to offer.

"There was no better feeling than to play for Canada and travel the world doing so."

Jonsson represented Sweden 285 times, making him the record holder for most games played in the national team.

He and his brother Kenny and Peter Forsberg were the only players to win Olympic gold at both Lillehammer 1994 and Turin 2006.

Jonsson is also part of another group of eight players to win gold medals at the Olympics and World Championship in the same year, 2006.

It is the only time in IIHF history this has happened.

Modano, meanwhile, is arguably the greatest player to come out of the US.

He is the all-time goal-scoring and points leader among American-born players in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing primarily for the Minnesota North Stars and Dallas Stars franchise in a career that lasted two decades and saw him claim the Olympic silver medal at Salt Lake City 2002.

Among the highlights of Pálffy’s career was helping Slovakia to success at the 2002 IIHF World Championship and serving as his country’s flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

Šatan, a legend among the first generation of Slovak players after the country achieved independence in the early 1990s, was also a part of the 2002 gold medal-winning side.

The late Boris Alexandrov, a former Soviet Union national team player and national coach in his native country of Kazakhstan, has also been inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame as a builder.

Former Bulgarian goaltender Konstantin Mihaylov has been named the winner of the Richard "Bibi" Torriani award for his long and unparalleled career, while the Paul Loicq Award for outstanding contributions to international hockey has gone to the late Jim Johannson of the US.

With the new additions, the IIHF Hall of Fame now includes 224 members.