First Day Breakdown of WJC Performances from Dallas Stars Prospects Aram Minnetian, Emil Hemming

The Dallas Stars have a pair of prospects that were selected to represent their country at the 2025 World Junior Championship with American defenceman Aram Minnetian and Finnish forward Emil Hemming. The two played their first games on Thursday with each player finding mixed results.

Minnetian was featured in the third defensive pairing during Team USA's 10-4 win over Germany, where he recorded 17 total shifts that totalled the seventh-most minutes on the team at 16:17 yet he still went negative with a -1 rating. The 19-year-old New Jersey native has made his mark with Team USA before as he won a gold medel at the 2023 U-18 World Championships. He's made an impressive run starting with the US National Development Program and ending up in the NCAA at Boston College, where he plays with many of his Team USA teammates like projected 2025 first overall pick James Hagens and high-end prospects Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault.

Despite their star power, Minnetian plays the most minutes for BC with an average time on ice at 21:01 for a team that ranks second in the country with a 12-3-1 record. He was the Stars fourth round pick in 2023 and remains unsigned, which is common for collegiate players as NHL teams don't want to burn years of entry-level contract years when their prospects will likely go back to college for a year or two to further develop.

Hemming and Finland had a far-less impressive showing than Minnetian and Team USA as they were shut out in a 4-0 loss to the tournament favourites in Team Canada. Finland was at a disadvantage with this year's tournament being played in Ottawa, which gave Team Canada a significant home ice advantage. They were downed easily with Hemming only landing one shot on net and getting the same rating as Minnetian at -1 on the night.

The 18-year-old is held to high standards in the Stars organization as he was their first round selection this last year with the 29th overall pick and has started transitioning to playing a North American style of hockey as he joined the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League this season. His game has carried over as he's recorded five goals and the fourth-most assists on the team at 15 for 20 points in 30 games, which shouldn't surprise many as he's been a near point-per-game player at every level of his junior career in Finland.

All IIHF World Junior Championship games will be featured on TSN for Canadian viewers and NHL Network for Americans and the rest of the world. You can catch Hemming and Finland redemption game on Friday when they take on Germany at 3:30 EST while Minnetian and Team USA will have to wait until Saturday for their next game when they battle against the always feisty Latvia at 3:30 EST.

In May, USA Hockey announced that it will partner with the Stars to host the 2025 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship in Frisco and Allen, Texas, from April 23 to May 3, 2025. The ten-team tournament, showcasing the top under-18 male hockey players from around the world, will be played on U.S. soil for just the fourth time in history.