Nathan Smith Recalled By Arizona Coyotes

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Scottsdale, Arizona – The Arizona Coyotes and General Manager Bill Armstrong announced Friday that forward Nathan Smith has been recalled from the Tucson Roadrunners and forward Boko Imama has been assigned to the Roadrunners. The move represents Smith’s first NHL call-up of the season, making him the 11th Roadrunners player to be recalled by the Coyotes on the year.

In his first season with Tucson, Nathan Smith has tallied 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 total points across 58 appearances. He is one of six players to have reached double-digit goals and assists while playing with the Roadrunners this year, and his 58 games played are tied for the second most on the team. The 24-year-old secured a 3-2 shootout win for Tucson over the first-place Calgary Wranglers on Saturday, March 18, when he scored the decisive third-round goal in in his first ever professional shootout attempt.

Smith was selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the third round (#91 overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft and was acquired by Arizona on March 21, 2022. He made his National Hockey League debut with the Coyotes three weeks later on April 12, 2022, at home against the New Jersey Devils and notched four points (2g 2a) over his first ten NHL outings last season. Smith also represented the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, recording a goal and an assist with a plus-two in four contests.

In addition, forward Boko Imama has been assigned to the Tucson Roadrunners by Arizona after appearing in their 4-3 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. The 26-year-old has taken the ice for five NHL contests with the Coyotes this season, who have a 4-0-1-0 record with Imama in the lineup. He returns to the Roadrunners where he has totaled five goals and eight assists for 13 points in 43 games this season. Imama ranks third on the team in penalty minutes with 96 and is one point away from matching his AHL career high of 14 points from the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 campaigns.

The Roadrunners kick off a six-game road trip Saturday night with the first of two matchups against the Colorado Eagles at 6:05 p.m. MST. Meanwhile, the Arizona Coyotes are nearby in Denver to take on the Colorado Avalanche Friday night at 6:00 p.m. MST.