Boko Imama spent the majority of the 2021-2022 season with the Tucson Roadrunners where he quickly established himself as a fan favorite in Tucson.
Imama was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the sixth round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He found his way to the Coyotes organization by way of the Los Angeles Kings in the summer of 2021.
The forward played in a career high 54 games, scoring 5 goals and 7 assists. He also fought 11 times for the Roadrunners which was also a career high.
Boko was the target of a racist gesture from San Jose Barracuda forward Krystof Habrik in January.
Because of that incident and numerous other incidents throughout the hockey world, Imama posted a statement on Twitter headlined “Enough is enough!” The Roadrunners worked with the Montreal native to create shirts featuring “Enough is enough” on the front and “All for all for all” on the back with all of the proceeds going to the Hockey Diversity Alliance to eradicate racism and intolerance in hockey.
When the initiative began he stated one of his goals was to reach the NHL and have a larger platform to highlight issues like this in sports and society, and that dream came to fruition late in the 2021-2022 season with his first NHL call-up.
He played in 4 games after the call-up, scoring his first NHL goal against the St. Louis Blues on April 23rd, 2022.
Boko Imama fights Keaton Middleton on Janurary 9th, 2022. (photo credit: Chris Hook)
Boko Imama wore this White Set gamer throughout the 2021-2022 season with and without the alternate captain’s “A” on the chest.
There is a little mess or cluster of repairs on the left breast that is visible in photos when Imama doesn’t have the “A”. Presumably the original “A” was sewn down before the team went to rotating alternate captains when captain Dysin Mayo was called up to the Arizona Coyotes and never returned.
Certain bits of wear are noticeable in photos both with and without the “A” on the chest, including the hole (and then repair) to the left of Imama’s nameplate and another hole (and eventual repair) on the right and left sleeves.
The rotating letters that the team used were applied with some very sticky double-sided tape and I also have the loose “A” to go with this sweater.
Boko Imama battles against the Abbotsford Canucks on February 7th, 2022. (photo credit: Abbotsford Canucks)
Imama’s jersey has pretty solid wear with stick marks, board burns, repairs, and unrepaired holes.
Both sleeves have repairs and small unrepaired holes and the right elbow has some solid board burns. The front of the jersey features the aforementioned cluster of repairs on the left breast, and there are two dark stick or puck marks near the bottom left hem of the sweater. Boko’s right sleeve also has a stick mark between the sleeve numbers.
The jersey has two very nice repairs on the neck or collar of the jersey that are holding the center copper patch in place. Those repairs are visible in at least one photo in the second half of the season.
On the back of the sweater is a repair to the left of Imama’s nameplate and a puck or stick mark near the back #1. Imama signed the jersey on the numbers on the back since this was acquired directly from the team.
