Penguins
Imama Might Have Fighting Chance to Stick With Penguins

CRANBERRY — Boko Imama has been with the Pittsburgh Penguins for little more than a week.
He’s still living in a hotel here, still learning to navigate the city.
But even before he made his Penguins debut in Seattle on Jan. 25, Imama had a thorough understanding of what his niche on their roster entailed, of what he would have to contribute if he wanted to remain part of it.
“I’m a bottom-six role player,” he said after practice Monday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. “I can provide my team with a lot of energy, try to build momentum for them. Get in on the forecheck, and stick up for them when the time comes.”
While all of those are positive traits in a blue-collar winger, it’s the part about defending his teammates that resounds most clearly.
That the Penguins would benefit from having a deterrent like Imama in their lineup was evident (again) Jan. 14, when Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson drove the shaft of his stick into the upper back of Penguins center Sidney Crosby.
Although Crosby is the Penguins’ captain and one of the most accomplished and respected veterans in the NHL, none of his teammates responded to Larsson’s assault with more than a muttered curse, and perhaps a quick sideways glance.
Had Imama been on the major-league roster at the time, Larsson likely would have faced a more painful form of retribution. Or perhaps he wouldn’t have felled Crosby from behind to begin with.
Although he smiles easily and often, Imama is drop-dead serious about his role with the Penguins. Indeed, the absence of a player like him on their depth chart influenced his decision to accept a one-year contract from president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas last summer.
“From my conversations with (assistant GM Jason Spezza) and Dubas, I knew they needed that element,” he said. “And I was more than happy to do it for this organization.”
Imama, who is 6-foot-1, 221 pounds, estimated that he averages about one fight every five or six games.
“I just try to be smart with it,” he said. “I try to do the most I can when the team needs it.”
He had his first with the Penguins three games into his recall, trading punches with Utah winger Liam O’Brien in Salt Lake City last Wednesday. In addition to O’Brien, Imama has squared off with heavyweights ranging from Ryan Reaves to Matt Rempe to Kurtis MacDermid, among others.
He declined to identify the toughest opponent he has faced — “There’s a lot of active players right now, so I don’t want to mention any names,” Imama said — but acknowledged that while fighting is an integral part of his job description, it’s not entirely business for him. Turns out he also enjoys the occasional tussle.
“A little bit of both, to be honest,” he said. “My competitive nature … obviously, fighting comes a little bit more naturally to me.”
Imama, 28, has at least one thing in common with a lot of NHL enforcers: He showed at lower levels of the game that he could do things with his hands besides making a fist with them. In his final season of major-junior hockey, Imama put up 41 goals in 66 games with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
“Believe it or not, I got to play on some power plays,” he said, grinning.
However, it also was during his junior career that Imama recognized that toughness could be a key component in his career as a pro.
“I was one of the bigger guys,” he said. “You just get challenged, and I’m the type to answer the bell.”
So far, Imama’s pro resume skews heavily toward the American Hockey League. He has appeared in 239 games there and just 19 in the NHL, including four with the Penguins.
Nonetheless, he could have a future in the organization if management concludes that his physical presence, coupled with the other elements of his game, is worthy of a steady employment in the NHL.
Which means he should at least have a puncher’s chance.
I am totally routing for Boko Imama!!!
It will be interesting to see if there are less shenanigans and liberties taken against our players with a lot of division rivalry games coming up. I am glad he is with Pittsburgh and hope that he does a good job and stays in the lineup.
He should remain in the NHL for the remainder of this season, probably have a good shot next as well on the 4th line as the 12/13 forward.
If he can grind it out (Positive wall play), cycle the puck effectively, pins the opposing team in their zone, finishes with a high-percentage shot on ocassion. & defensively responsible, then why not. We already know he is physical. I mean we have endured Harkins, Neito & Acciari. This shouldn’t hurt to give this guy a chance.
Sorry, I like Acciari’s game and “compete!”
Acciari can’t seem to get much past the blue line before losing the puck.
What I think is most interesting is that Sullivan is playing him (so far) night after night. Seems an acknowledgement that this team needs the physical element more than he let on once they couldn’t just skate past everyone like the Cup years.
Yeah it seems like (for now) Sullivan finally conceded that a physical player is important. When they called up Boko I was expecting it to be a one game thing then he’s out, but he’s now slated to play in his 5th consecutive game. Sullivan is giving him a surprisingly long leash.
I hope Boko sticks around. I would rather watch him throw his weight around and stick up for teammates than watch Matt Nieto skate around aimlessly.
Hey Dave
Did you go back and forth on using the last line, lol
That’s got to be weird for both the manager and the player when you only get 2 or 3 shifts per period. One might ask Jaybo how they used to do that ? I remember the days of Kelly B and Ryan M making the sports page beaten up under C Hatricks watch.
About time we added this type of element instead of the useless Puustinen types
I want BOKO on this/my team!