Monstre announces a trio of roster moves

22 December 2024

The AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, top affiliate of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, announced Sunday that the Blue Jackets recalled the goaltender Jet Greaves and defender Denton Mateychuk from the monsters and assigned forward James Malatesta to Cleveland. Greaves went 0-1-2 in three appearances for the Blue Jackets this season with a 3.30 goals-against average (GAA) and .895 save percentage (S%) and went 8-4-2 in 15 appearances for the Monsters this season with a shutout, a 3.21 GAA and .902 S%. In 27 appearances for the Monsters this season, Mateychuk posted 9-16-25 with ten penalty minutes and a +5 rating, while Malatesta appeared in two games for Columbus this season and added 6-6-12 with 25 penalty minutes in 25 games for Cleveland.

A 6’0″, 179 lb. left tackle native of Cambridge, ON, Greaves, 23, went 3-8-2 with a 3.41 GAA and .909 S% in 13 career NHL appearances, all for the Blue Jackets, spanning over parts of three seasons from 2022-24.In 133 career AHL games, all for Cleveland, spanning parts of four seasons from 2021-24, Greaves went 69-44-13 with five shutouts, a 2.99 GAA and .905 S% and was named to the North Division roster at the 2023-24 AHL All-Star Classic Greaves went 10-5-. 0 with a 3.05 GAA and .907 S% in 15 ECHL games for the Kalamazoo Wings in 2021-22 and went 20-27-5 with three shutouts, a 3.71 GAA and .899 S% in 60 career OHL appearances for the Barrie Colts spanning two seasons from 2018-20. Greaves was also named in 2018-19 OHL First All-Rookie Team.

A 5’11”, 185 lb. lefty native of Winnipeg, MB, Mateychuk, 20, was selected by the Blue Jackets in the first round (12th overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. In 52 appearances for the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors last season Mateychuk posted 17-58-75 with 31 penalty minutes and a +35 rating and added 11-19-30 with two penalty minutes and a +19 rating in 20 WHL Playoff appearances.Serving as Moose Jaw’s captain for the second consecutive year, Mateychuk was named to the WHL (East) First All-Star Team, helped claim a WHL Championship, was named the WHL’s Playoff MVP and Defenseman of the Year and was named to the CHL’s First All-Star Team.In four Memorial Cup appearances for the Warriors, Mateychuk made 3-4-7 with a rating of +4 in four games.

In 203 career games for Moose Jaw, spanning parts of five WHL seasons from 2019-24, Mateychuk recorded 41-174-215 with 82 penalty minutes and a +58 rating. In 40 career WHL playoff games, Mateychuk contributed 15-33-48 with four penalty minutes and a +19 rating and was also named to the 2021-22 WHL (East) First All-Star Team. Internationally, Mateychuk represented Canada at the 2024 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship and helped Canada win the gold medal at the 2021 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship.

A 5’9″, 193 lb. left-shooting native of Montreal, QC, Malatesta, 21, was selected by Columbus in the fifth round (133rd overall) of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and went 2-2-4 with five penalty minutes in 13 career NHL appearances for the Blue Jackets spanning parts of two seasons from 2023-24 In 81 career AHL games, all for Cleveland, spanning parts of two seasons from 2023-24, Malatesta recorded 18-16-34 with 104 penalty minutes.

Prior to his professional career, Malatesta logged 98-89-187 with 154 penalty minutes and a +41 rating in 214 career QMJHL appearances for the Quebec Remparts spanning parts of four seasons from 2019-23. In 2022–23, Malatesta led Quebec to the QMJHL and Memorial Cup Championships, was named to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team, earned the Guy LaFleur Trophy as QMJHL MVP, and claimed the Stafford Smythe Trophy as Memorial Cup MVP.