The National Hockey League announced Monday that Detroiter Jason McCrimmon is one of three finalists for the 2023 Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award in the United States. The award is given “to an individual who — through the sport of hockey — has positively impacted his or her community, culture or society.”
McCrimmon is the president and founder of Detroit Ice Dreams, a 501c3 nonprofit committed to exposing more children from Detroit and metro Detroit neighborhoods to sports performed on the ice, particularly hockey, by making the sports more accessible and affordable. The winner of the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award in the United States, along with a Canadian winner of the award, will each receive a $25,000 prize to be donated to a charity of the winner’s choice.