Boko Imama Returns After Coyotes Season Debut

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Tucson, Arizona – The Arizona Coyotes announced Wednesday that forward Bokondji Imama has been assigned to the Tucson Roadrunners after making his season debut with the Coyotes on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues. In Arizona’s 6-2 win over St. Louis at Mullett Arena, Imama recorded three hits and a blocked shot on a line with Zack Kassian and former 22-23 teammate Laurent Dauphin.

In 39 games with Tucson, Boko Imama has matched his offensive numbers from 2021-2022 with five goals and seven assists for 12 total points. He is third on the team in penalty minutes with 75 and has received four fighting majors on the year. In his first season as a Roadrunner, Imama led the American Hockey League with a franchise record 178 penalty minutes that included 11 fights and has set the all-time team mark for total penalty minutes with 253.

The 26-year-old made his National Hockey League debut with the Coyotes on April 22, 2022, against the Washington Capitals, registering a goal and a fight across four NHL outings last season. Imama was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the sixth round (#180 overall) in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and was acquired by Arizona in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings prior to the 2021-2022 campaign.

Last month, the Roadrunners unveiled special Black History Month Warm-Up Jerseys and Player Ties, with the designs overseen by Imama. The team sold the signed jerseys and ties to benefit the Duclair-Imama Foundation, which was established by Imama and former Arizona Coyotes and Roadrunners forward Anthony Duclair to help and mentor young minorities in hockey through introducing and teaching the game while also providing them with the necessary gear. In addition, Imama Launched the Enough Is Enough Campaign in 2021-2022, aiding in the design of t-shirts that featured the words “Enough Is Enough” on the front with the Roadrunners logo and Imama’s signature, and “All For All For All” on the back.

The Roadrunners will be on the road this weekend to take on the Milwaukee Admirals, AHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators. Game one of the two-game set from UW-Panther Arena is scheduled for Friday, March 10 at 6:00 p.m. MST. Meanwhile, the Arizona Coyotes will host the Nashville Predators at Mullett Arena Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. MST.