Malatesta shines on the big stage at the Memorial Cup

James Malatesta put an exclamation point on his junior season Sunday night, joining an exclusive group of Blue Jackets draft picks to win the Memorial Cup.

With his Quebec Remparts posting a 5-0 blanking of Seattle, the Blue Jackets draft pick leaves Kamloops with a trophy and memories to last a lifetime as champion of the Canadian Hockey League junior ranks.

On top of that, Malatesta was named the MVP of the tournament, tying for the Memorial Cup lead with five goals in four games played while making an impact all over the ice with his speed and competitiveness. He scored the Remparts' second goal in the finale victory, putting him into a tie with Seattle's Kyle Crnkovic at the event.

But Malatesta's impressive performance in the tournament, including a hat trick in the Remparts' opener last Friday, could portend a bright future as well for the 2021 fifth-round pick.

While it's no guarantee of future success, the fact that such names as Nathan MacKinnon (2013), Tyler Bertuzzi (2014), Leon Draisaitl (2015), Christian Dvorak (2016) and Dylan Strome (2017) have led the Memorial Cup in goals in recent years could predict good things to come. Recent winners of the MVP honor include Strome, Mitch Marner (2016), Draisaitl, MacKinnon, Jonathan Huberdeau (2011) and Taylor Hall (2009, 2010).

Malatesta finished this season with Quebec with a 37-29-66 line in 55 games that would have been more had he not missed nearly a month late in the season with injuries. In the Remparts' run to the QMJHL championship, he notched 14 goals and 20 points in 18 games and won the Guy Lafleur Trophy as the league's playoff MVP.

Noted for an excellent shot, an aggressive nature and a physical streak to his game that belies his 5-9, 191-pound frame, Malatesta is likely headed to Cleveland next season to begin his pro career in the AHL. He signed an entry-level contract with Columbus in December and could be a late-round find for the Blue Jackets given his production and his well-rounded game.

"For me to get to (the NHL) level, I think my game is I compete hard," Malatesta said on the Pipeline Podcast last spring. "I have good speed, good shot, so I think I have all the qualities, and I have that extra grit in my game if it's around the net or in the corners or finishing my checks."

Quebec advanced to the final thanks to opening wins over host Kamloops (8-3 on Friday) and WHL champ Seattle (3-1 on Monday) before falling Tuesday to OHL champ Peterborough (4-2) to complete the round robin. The team then had four days off before pulling away from Seattle in Sunday night's final.

The previous CBJ draft picks to win the Memorial Cup after being drafted were 2002 draft pick Dan Fritsche and 2003 draft pick Marc Methot (London, 2005), 2010 draft pick Mathieu Corbeil (Saint John, 2011) and 2000 draft pick Shane Bendera (Red Deer, 2001). In 2016, Kole Sherwood, a New Albany native who signed with the Jackets in 2015, won the trophy with London.

Michael Chaput also won the Cup and was named MVP of the tournament with Shawinigan in 2012 after the Blue Jackets traded for the 2010 third-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers.

In addition, in recent years, Tyler Angle captured the Cup with Windsor in 2017, but he wasn't chosen by the Blue Jackets until the 2019 draft and did not skate in the Memorial Cup games. Others to win the Cup before being drafted by the Jackets include Aaron Johnson (Rimouski, 2000) and Brent Regner (Vancouver, 2007).

Photograph courtesy of Candice Ward/CHL.