James Malatesta

September 2026 – Malatesta continued to establish himself as a hard-working, physical AHL forward in 2025-26, scoring 10 goals and eight assists with 87 penalty minutes in 57 games for Cleveland. The 23-year-old has also appeared in 13 NHL games over the past two seasons, recording two goals and two assists. Columbus believes his work ethic and physical style could eventually translate to a regular NHL role. The Blue Jackets re-signed him to a one-year, two-year contract for 2026-27, giving him another opportunity to earn that promotion. Jayd Serdy

July 2025 – Since being QMJHL playoff MVP in 2023, Malatesta has played in 97 AHL games and 13 NHL games. He plays with a chip on his shoulder, as demonstrated by his 128 penalty minutes over his AHL career so far, and he’s brought over some offensive production as well, to the tune of 0.37 points per game in the AHL so far. That’s the same rate he produced at the NHL level as well during his 11-game stint in 2023-24. He’ll have the opportunity to earn a bottom-six role for the Blue Jackets during training camp for the 2025-26 season, and he possesses the work ethic and grit to capitalize on it, even as an undersized player standing at 5-9. Ioan Gheordanesc 

June 2023 – Malatesta had a playoff to remember, being named the QMJHL playoff MVP, and winning the Memorial Cup with the Quebec Remparts. While these are very encouraging signs, don’t expect him to make the jump to the NHL right away. He still needs to work on his defensive and physical game to be effective at the next level, but he is a player who should be on everyone’s radar now. Josh Rosa

July 2021 – Malatesta was selected in the fifth round, 133rd overall, by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2021 NHL Draft. Dave Hall

April 2021 – Malatesta’s offensive production has not increased in his draft year the way he had hoped. After recording .76 points per game in his first QMJHL season, he has dipped to .72 points per game in the disrupted 2020-2021 campaign. There is a lot more to Malatesta’s game than his raw offensive numbers, however.

Malatesta has speed to burn, great overall mobility, and a motor that never stops running. His speed pressures the opposition in multiple ways, whether it be getting in to disrupt a play on the forecheck, backing off defenders to create space in transition, or simply blowing by a defenceman on the rush. His combination of tenacity and quickness allows him to win contested pucks along the boards and take them into space to attempt a pass or fire off a wrister that comes off his stick quickly. Malatesta isn’t tall but he has a sturdy frame and doesn’t hesitate to engage physically, routinely finishing his checks and making life difficult for opposing players. He has good puck protection abilities, using his elusiveness, core strength, and low center of gravity to hold off defenders while maintaining speed. Malatesta puts forth a strong effort in all three zones but still needs to improve his decision making, both in his passing and off-puck play. Though he doesn’t possess overwhelming offensive skill, Malatesta displays plenty of attributes that will translate to the NHL and he could develop into an extremely useful energy player that can impact the game in transition while chipping in with secondary scoring. Nick Richard