| Waltteri Merelä | |
| Team: | SC Bern |
| League: | NL |
| Former Teams: | Pelicans Tappara Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Position: | Forward |
| Birth Date: | 1998 7, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Ylöjärvi, Finland |
| Ntl Team: | FIN |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 2 |
| Weight Lbs: | 196 |
| Shoots: | Right |
| Draft: | Undrafted |
| Career Start: | 2018 |
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).
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 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]
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||