Ilari Melart

Ilari Melart (born February 11, 1989) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for HIFK of the Liiga.

Ilari Melart
Born (1989-02-11) February 11, 1989
Helsinki, Finland
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 227 lb (103 kg; 16 st 3 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Left
DEL team
Former teams		 HIFK
Springfield Falcons
HC Yugra
Luleå HF
Färjestad BK
Växjö Lakers
Adler Mannheim
National team  Finland
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2008–present

Playing career

In 2006–07 he played 10 matches for the A-junior (top youth level in Finland) side and an additional 21 matches for the B-juniors. In 2007-08 he made 21 appearances for the A-juniors, which eventually earned him a spot in the first team.[1] The year before Melart played in the United States for Harwood Union High School in Duxbury, Vermont.[2]

Melart made his first appearance for HIFK's first team on November 13, 2008 away against Tappara. Before joining the first team, Melart played with HIFK's different youth teams.

On May 24, 2013 Melart signed as a free agent with the Columbus Blue Jackets on a one-year entry level contract. Melart moved to North America for the 2013–14 season and was assigned to the Blue Jackets' AHL team, the Springfield Falcons. He scored his first professional goal on November 23 against the Hartford Wolf Pack. After 24 games with the Falcons, and unable to solidify a position on the blueline, Melart opted to be reassigned to the Russian Kontinental Hockey League to play for Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk. In 15 games he scored 1 goal and 5 points as Yugra were unable to qualify for the Gagarin Cup. He then returned to the Falcons on March 25, 2013, to fulfil his contract.[3]

As a restricted free agent with the Blue Jackets, Melart opted to make a permanent return with Yugra of the KHL on May 19, 2014.[4]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09 HIFK SM-l 27 1 1 2 62 — — — — —
2009–10 HIFK SM-l 13 1 0 1 47 2 0 0 0 0
2010–11 HIFK SM-l 20 1 1 2 94 6 0 1 1 2
2011–12 HIFK SM-l 36 2 3 5 132 2 1 0 1 0
2012–13 HIFK SM-l 50 7 11 18 80 7 0 0 0 29
2013–14 Springfield Falcons AHL 31 1 2 3 30 1 0 0 0 0
2013–14 Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk KHL 15 1 4 5 22 — — — — —
2014–15 Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk KHL 33 5 1 6 38 — — — — —
2015–16 Luleå HF SHL 48 4 7 11 79 11 1 0 1 14
2016–17 Luleå HF SHL 47 6 10 16 32 2 0 0 0 0
2017–18 Färjestad BK SHL 46 4 5 9 94 6 1 0 1 10
2018–19 Färjestad BK SHL 40 2 10 12 30 14 2 2 4 14
2019–20 Växjö Lakers SHL 44 12 9 21 77 — — — — —
2020–21 Växjö Lakers SHL 38 12 6 18 67 9 1 2 3 39
2021–22 Adler Mannheim DEL 23 2 13 15 47 3 0 1 1 8
2022–23 HIFK SM-l 59 7 16 23 73 7 1 4 5 31
Liiga totals 205193251488 2425762
KHL totals 48651160 —————
SHL totals 263404787379 4254977
DEL totals 232131547 30118

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2009 Finland WJC 7th 6 0 1 1 4
2013 Finland WC 4th 10 0 0 0 10
Junior totals 6 0 1 1 4
Senior totals 10 0 0 0 10

References
  1. "Ilari Melart player profile". Jatkoaika.com. February 15, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  2. "Ilari Melart". Elite Prospects. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  3. "Blue Jackets re-assign Ilari Melart to Falcons". Columbus Blue Jackets. March 25, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  4. "Yugra extend contract with Ilari Melart". Kontinental Hockey League (in Russian). May 19, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
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