Ilari Melart

Ilari Melart
Born February 11, 1989
Helsinki, FIN
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 227 lb (103 kg; 16 st 3 lb)
Position Defenceman
Shoots Left
KHL team
Former teams
Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk
HIFK
Springfield Falcons
National team  Finland
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2008present

Ilari Melart (born February 11, 1989) is a Finnish ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

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]

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.[2]

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.[3]

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
Liiga totals 146 12 16 28 415 17 1 1 2 31
KHL totals 15 1 4 5 22

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. 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  2. "Blue Jackets re-assign Ilari Melart to Falcons". Columbus Blue Jackets. 2014-03-25. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
  3. "Yugra extend contract with Ilari Melart" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 2014-05-19. Retrieved 2014-05-19.

External links