Karen Ota-O'Brien is the co-founder and current President of the Florida Women's Hockey League

The NHL has announced the finalists for its annual Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award, and one of them is from South Florida.

This year, for the first time, the league will have one award winner from the United States and one from Canada.

Three finalists for each were announced on Monday.

From the U.S., the finalists are Jason McCrimmon from Detroit, Michigan, Marty Richardson from Littleton, Colorado and Karen Ota-O’Brien from Coconut Creek, Florida.

For those unfamiliar with Ota-O’Brien, she has created quite a footprint for hockey not only in South Florida but across the state.

She is the founder of the South Florida Women’s Hockey Program, the Lucky Pucks Hockey Club and she is also the co-founder and current President of the Florida Women's Hockey League (FWHL), which is made up of women’s hockey organizations of all skill levels across the state.

The NHL released a video focusing on Ota-O’Brien, which can be seen below:

More, from the NHL:

"After starting the Lucky Pucks Hockey Club with one team comprised of 12 women, Karen helped grow the FWHL to 14 teams with over 350 participants from across the state. The Lucky Pucks Club alone makes up 4 teams with over 80 participants in the FWHL."

Ota-O’Brien also created the Girls Night Out League, which offers open skating for woman of all skill levels every week.

The NHL recognizes Ota-O’Brien’s three decades of dedicated work to establish and maintain women’s hockey in Florida, and “creating a community where women of all ages and backgrounds feel safe, included and empowered on and off the ice.”

The three finalists from Canada are Derek Klein from Shellbrook, Saskatchewan, Dean Smith from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Saroya Tinker from Toronto, Ontario.

Winners will be determined by a judging panel, O’Ree himself and a public fan vote.

The fan vote opened Monday and can be found at NHL.com/OReeAward.

Voting will be open until April 16 at 1 p.m.

The winner of the U.S. award will be announced during the NHL Awards on June 26 in Nashville.

The Canadian winner will be announced on Sportsnet during a Stanley Cup Final game.

The two winners will each receive $25,000 while the four remaining finalists will each receive $5,000, all of which will be donated to a charity of their respective choice.