Waltteri Merelä

Waltteri Merelä
Born (1998-07-06) 6 July 1998 (age 26)
Ylöjärvi, Finland
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Right
NL team
Former teams		 SC Bern
Pelicans
Tappara
Tampa Bay Lightning
National team  Finland
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2018–present

Waltteri Merelä (born 6 July 1998) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player. He is currently playing for SC Bern of the National League (NL).

Playing career

Merelä made his SM-liiga debut appearance for Pelicans during the 2018–19 season. In December 2021, he made his debut in the Finland men's national ice hockey team.[1]

As an undrafted free agent, on 5 June 2023, Merelä left the SM-liiga after 5 seasons by signing a one-year, two-way contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning.[2] Merelä made the opening night roster to begin the 2023–24 season with the Lightning. He made 19 appearances with Tampa Bay over the course of the season, while also splitting the campaign with AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, posting 34 points through 54 regular season games.

At the conclusion of the season, Merelä opted to leave the Lightning and returned to Europe in signing a one-year contract with Swiss club, SC Bern of the NL, on 10 June 2024.[3]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2016–17 Tappara Jr. A 30 4 6 10 6 2 0 0 0 0
2017–18 Tappara Jr. A 36 10 14 24 10 7 2 2 4 2
2018–19 Lahti Pelicans Jr. A 32 22 32 54 67 10 3 6 9 12
2018–19 Lahti Pelicans Liiga 9 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2018–19 Peliitat Mestis 9 1 4 5 0 — — — — —
2019–20 Lahti Pelicans Liiga 48 7 11 18 16 — — — — —
2019–20 Lahti Pelicans Jr. A 2 1 2 3 6 1 0 0 0 0
2019–20 Peliitat Mestis 10 3 4 7 14 — — — — —
2020–21 Lahti Pelicans Liiga 57 10 17 27 55 5 1 0 1 4
2021–22 Tappara Liiga 57 21 23 44 38 15 1 7 8 8
2022–23 Tappara Liiga 41 15 18 33 47 14 8 6 14 4
2023–24 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 19 1 0 1 4 — — — — —
2023–24 Syracuse Crunch AHL 55 15 19 34 16 8 3 0 3 2
Liiga totals 212 53 70 123 156 34 10 13 23 16
NHL totals 19 1 0 1 4 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2023 Finland WC 7th 1 1 0 1 0
Senior totals 1 1 0 1 0

References

  1. ^ "Leijonat - Tulospalvelu". leijonat.fi. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Lightning sign forward Merelä to one-year, two-way contract". Tampa Bay Lightning. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Bern sign Waltteri Merela" (in German). SC Bern. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.


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