Dumais, Malatesta formed bond while dominating in juniors

They were the toast of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, one player dominating the league's regular season and the other putting an indelible mark on the postseason.

Yet through all their spirited battles, Jordan Dumais and James Malatesta are friends.

The two grew up close to one another geographically in Montreal -- Malatesta in the Kirkland neighborhood west of downtown, Dumais in Ile Bizard just across the Riviere des Prairies -- and have become equally as tight in the past couple of years. They share a gym in the offseason and have gotten to know each other more and more as the years have gone by.

"It's unbelievable being that close to the guy and living close to him in the summer training with him," Dumais said this week at CBJ development camp. "Over the years, we've gotten closer and closer. It's great."

And they were happy for one another as each put together seasons to remember in the QMJHL. Dumais generated the headlines all season in Halifax, running away with the league scoring title and finishing second in the Canadian junior ranks behind only No. 1 overall draft pick Connor Bedard. By the end, his 140-point season (54 goals, 86 assists) was the third most-productive season in the Q in the past 20 years, trailing only longtime NHLers Sidney Crosby and Alexander Radulov.

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He was nearly as good in the postseason as well (5-16-21 in 16 games), but Malatesta was better. Not only did his Quebec team win both the league title and the Memorial Cup, the 2021 fifth-round pick of the Blue Jackets was named the MVP of both competitions. He posted 14 goals and 20 points in 16 postseason games as the Remparts won the Q, then added five goals in four games in the team's dominant Memorial Cup victory.

Along the way, Malatesta's Remparts beat Dumais' Mooseheads in a six-game series to capture the QMJHL title.

"Obviously my first goal was to beat him," Dumais said. "But at the end of the day I was really happy for him."

For his part, Malatesta said he tries not to go too far with the bragging rights.

"Yeah, I try not to talk about it too much," Malatesta said. "But sometimes we'll have a good laugh over it and stuff."

While the two battled against one another for this past year, it's not hard to imagine the two ending up on the same Blue Jackets squad at some point given their success in the junior ranks. Neither is the biggest of players -- both are listed at 5-foot-9 -- but the talent is apparent with each; for Dumais, it's sheer offensive production, while Malatesta has a nose for the net and a gritty streak as well.

The latter served him well in the Q's postseason and the Memorial Cup, where after a 37-goal, 66-point regular season, Malatesta stepped it up with 19 goals in 22 postseason games.

"I think I always showed up at the big moments, whenever it counted most," he said. "That's just my style of play. I like playing that gritty game, playoff style, getting my nose dirty. But at the same time, if you give me time and space, I can make the opponent pay. I like mixing it up and also finish my checks. That's just my style of play."

As good of a season as Malatesta had offensively, Dumais more than doubled his regular season production, posting the most prolific season in the Q since Radulov in 2006. Coming off a 109-point season the year before, Dumais figured he could have a pretty good year production-wise, and he delivered, posting nearly as games with at least four points (nine) as scoreless games (10).

"To a certain extent," he said when asked if he knew that type of production was possible. "I didn't have a goal or anything, but I knew I could go around those types of numbers. But at the end of the day, I was trying to win. We came close to it, but if I go back next year, my only goal is to win."

Dumais may have another chance at a QMJHL crown. He's short of the age cutoff to leave the Canadian junior ranks for the minor leagues, so if he doesn't make the Blue Jackets out of camp, it appears likely that another year in Halifax is in the cards.

Malatesta, meanwhile, appears headed for the pro ranks after four seasons in the Q. He'll see how his game translates to the next level, but along the way, he'll be watching his good friend Dumais.

"He's gonna crush it," Malatesta said. "There's a lot of top-end guys, a lot of 19s and 20s, that are going to be out of the league now. He's gonna be one of the older guys in the league, and I think he'll absolutely crush it if he goes back."