Boko Imama had heard good things about his fellow Montreal native Bill Zonnon going into last summer's NHL Draft. So, when the Penguins took
Boko Imama had heard good things about his fellow Montreal native Bill Zonnon going into last summer's NHL Draft. So, when the Penguins took the forward with one of their three first-round picks, Imama quickly got on his phone. “Right away, I texted (Special Assistant to the President of Hockey Operations and GM) Trevor Daley to just to express my excitement for Pittsburgh drafting Billy Z,” Imama said with a smile. A few weeks later, Imama and his friend Anthony Duclair hosted their annual hockey camp back home in Quebec. They had gotten the idea during the pandemic, when Black Lives Matter protests arose following the death of George Floyd. Between that movement and their personal experiences of being on the receiving end of racism during games, Imama and Duclair wanted to take action in some way. They invite special guests to come in, spend time with the kids and share their stories. Imama reached out to Zonnon to see if he’d be willing to join the group. "Great kid that he is, no hesitation,” Imama said. “He came down to our camp. He spent close to two hours there. He went on the ice with the kids after, took pictures and all that. I feel like Billy is just a really good teammate, great person.”
