The first-ever winners of the award are due to be announced in June and will be given annually to the players who meet the criteria of best skill, determination, team success and character.

Players will have had to compete in at least one IIHF tournament at any level, along with a top domestic league in a country.

Luc Tardif, President of the IIHF, expressed excitement over the new award.

"This is an exciting initiative that we have been working on for quite some time," he said.

"We believe these awards are important because hockey is an international game played across many nations, but there is no honour to celebrate the achievements of the very best."

Members of the media will be able to vote for the award, as well as the members of the IIHF.

The media will constitute 70 per cent of the votes, while the IIHF will own 30 per cent.

One media group will specialise in women voting, while the other will be voting for the men's side.

The voters will be journalists and come from either the top 16 men's teams or the top 10 women's teams.

The IIHF Historical Committee will meet to discuss the potential candidates for the award, creating a six name short list for both genders, which will then be decided by voting.

The awards will be permanently displayed in Toronto, as the winners will receive a smaller version of the honour.