Top 10 World Junior Hockey Championship fantasy value changes (good and bad)

It's around this time of year that many prospects at the World Junior Championships see their fantasy trade value fluctuate.

That's because for many poolies, this is the only chance we get to see these prospects play until they make it to the pros. Some poolies will overpay for those having a great tournament or sell cheap the ones who aren't.

This year is no exemption. I've already had a few offers in some of my leagues involving players in this year's tournament.

Remember, how a teenager does in this tournament has no impact his future NHL success. Pavel Brendl was named as the tournament's best forward during a gold medal run in 2001 but was an NHL bust. Vincent Lecavalier had a horrible performance at 1998 world juniors — which was capped by a 6-3 loss to Kazakhstan — but went on to be a 50-goal scorer.

So this list isn't who is going to be the best NHL players, but whose trade value spiked or dropped the most over the past two weeks. We're only looking at drafted players as undrafted players aren't on many fantasy squads.

Note that all statistics are before Monday's semi-final games. Links point to their DobberProspects fantasy profile.

10. Evgeny Svechnikov – down

Svechnikov is a Russian who plays for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and was drafted 19th overall by the Red Wings at the 2015 draft. So far at the world juniors he has zero points. He was expected to be one of the leaders for Russia but the tournament has gone so poorly for Svechnikov he didn't play in the overtime period against Denmark in the quarterfinals.

9. Adrian Kempe – up

Like the rest of team Sweden, Kempe has played a solid World Juniors. The L.A. Kings prospect hasn't been setting scoring records but he doesn't need to be with the balanced offense Sweden has. Kempe is tied for second on the team with three goals and tied for second with six points. His 23 shots is the second most overall. From all reports, he's had an excellent world juniors despite the lack of offensive numbers.

8. Alex Nedeljkovic – up

The Carolina prospect has been excellent in this tournament and there was some doubt at the beginning that he would even be the main starter (as was the case with almost every team this year, it seems like). Nedeljkovic has a 3-1 record, with a 1.15 GAA and a .953 SV%. He's only given up two goals once (against Canada on Boxing Day) and his only loss was a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Sweden.

7. Linus Soderstrom– up

How good has Soderstrom been in these World Juniors? The Islanders draft pick is 4-0 with a 1.27 GAA and a .952 SV%. He made 46 saves in a 1-0 shutout against the United States in the round robin and recorded his second shutout against Slovakia in the semi-finals, albeit with a much easier 17 saves. This is his second straight excellent performance at the world juniors.

6. Kasperi Kapanen – down

The Maple Leafs prospect has seen his stock fall for most of 2015 and his World Juniors play is causing it to drop even more. Kapanen simply has been outplayed by younger teammates throughout the tournament. Kapanen has just one goals and two points in five games. Kapanen does have a history of struggling at these tournaments, finishing with one goal and no assists a year ago.

5. Mikko Rantanen – down

Not everything has been going rosy for the Fins despite their high-powered offense. Rantanen was expected to be heavily leaned on. He was leading the Av's AHL team with 26 points in 22 games when he left for the world juniors. In the annual Dobber pool, he was made a captain, meaning poolies could only choose him or other superstar prospects such as Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Dylan Strome. But Rantanen has just two points. Finland has 29 goals. So it's hard to believe that he hasn't been in on more of them.

4. Sebastian Aho – up

The Finnish forward has been excellent. The Hurricanes prospect has four goals and 12 points (second-highest total so far) in just five games as that whole top line for Finland has been clicking. He's also been pretty consistent all tournament, netting at least two points in four of his five games.

3. Mackenzie Blackwood – down

It didn't help that he missed the first two games of the world juniors because of a suspension. Maybe he had trouble finding his groove because of that. But the New Jersey Devils prospect never looked comfortable. He finished the tournament with one win in three games, a 3.95 GAA and 0.859 SV%. He looked especially brutal against Finland in the quarterfinals.

2. Zach Werenski – up

The U.S.A. defenseman has been exceptional this tournament. In truth, much of the U.S. team has been. Werenski is tied for the tournament lead for dmen with two goals and is second in defensemen points with seven. His plus-eight is tied for the tournament lead of all players. Also helping his rising stock is the rumour that he may leave Michigan University and turn pro with Columbus right after the tournament concludes.

1. Jake Virtanen – down

The Vancouver Canucks loaned Virtanen to team Canada for the World Juniors, but many Canadians now wish they didn't bother. Many expected Virtanen to dominate as an older player at the World Juniors. Instead he had just one points in five games. Three minor penalties in the elimination game didn't help matters either.