IIHF names six finalists for Male Player of the Year

The IIHF’s Historical Committee has named their six finalists for Male Player of the Year: Canada’s John Tavares, Roman Cervenka and Lukas Dostal of Czechia, Kevin Fiala and Roman Josi of Switzerland and Erik Karlsson of Sweden.

This is the second year the award will be handed out. It’s given to the player who best exemplifies skill, determination, team success, and sporting character on and off the ice. To be eligible, a player must have competed in at least one IIHF tournament at any level during the calendar year and played in a high-caliber league throughout the rest of the season. The IIHF considers the performances from both to determine their winner.

Connor Bedard of Canada won the award last season and Tavares is in the running to keep the award on Canadian soil. The Toronto Maple Leafs captain led Team Canada to a bronze medal at the World Championships. He finished the tournament with 11 points, which was tied for sixth in tournament scoring. Tavares also posted 29 goals and 65 games for the Maple Leafs last season.

The Swiss duo of Fiala and Josi each have a strong case for the award. Josi captained the Swiss team at the World Championships and was named the best defender of the tournament. This coming after finishing the NHL season tied for third in scoring by defensemen with an impressive 85 points. Meanwhile, Fiala was named the best forward at the tournament and helped lead the Swiss to a silver medal. With the Los Angeles Kings, Fiala finished the 2023-24 season recording 73 points in 82 games.

Cervenka is the eldest of the group at 38. He captained Czechia to a gold-medal-winning performance at the World Championships and finished with 11 points in the tournament. Cervenka had a cup of coffee with the Calgary Flames back in 2012-13, and has spent the past eight seasons in the Swiss-A league, where last season he recorded 40 points in 47 games.

Dostal is the only goaltender nominated. He backstopped Czechia to their gold-medal victory on home soil and was named the tournament’s best goalie. Dostal posted an impressive three shutouts during the Worlds, including the Gold Medal Game. The 23-year-old netminder was coming off his first full season with the Anaheim Ducks, where he posted a 14-23-3 record and a .902 save percentage.

Rounding out the finalists is Karlsson from Sweden. The Pittsburgh Penguins product helped lead the Swedes to a bronze-medal victory and recorded 11 points in the tournament after collecting 56 points in his first season with the Penguins.

The award is voted on by both media members, who account for 70% of the voting and members of the IIHF family, who account for the other 30%. The winner will be announced Monday, June 17 at 12:00 PM ET.