I’m not buying it but the thinking seems to be:

1) The rankings of the top 4 aren’t nearly as consensus as is being let on.
2) San Jose at #2 desperately needs a defenseman more than another forward
3) Vancouver at #3 needs a center as top priority and Malhotra’s dad works in the front office

I find it hard to believe that both those teams wouldn’t have Stenberg in their top 2 or would prioritize positional need over best player available, so I won’t get my hopes up.

I also don’t know if SJ would have any interest in letting the Blackhawks get the player they want without a massive overpay, but if SJ does in fact want to take a defenseman then Davidson should be willing to be pretty aggressive in trying to move up to #2 if that conversation is on the table at all. If it’s McKenna at #1 and Blackhawks trade up to #2, VAN will take Malholtra at #3 and SJ can get their guy at #4 while also accumulating a bunch more assets.