McKenna is still the consensus No. 1 overall pick.
NHL.com and The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler both have Toronto selecting the Canadian forward out of Penn State.
San Jose’s pick at No. 2 is where the debate begins. Wheeler has Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg landing there, while NHL.com’s pair of experts have defenseman Chase Reid going to the Sharks.
San Jose has a terrific young forward group, led by Macklin Celebrini, and while another forward would be great, it needs more talent on the blue line.
This is the perfect opportunity for the Sharks to land a top-tier prospect in defense to partner with Celebrini, Will Smith and Co.
The No. 3 pick seems obvious for the Vancouver Canucks. Caleb Malhotra is the pick across the board. Malhotra’s dad, Manny, was just named the Canucks head coach. That could play a factor in the selection.
Stenberg dropped to the Chicago Blackhawks at No. 4 in NHL.com’s most-recent mock draft.
Wheeler placed defenseman Carson Carels with Chicago and then Reid at No. 5 to the New York Rangers.
Carels was mocked to the Rangers by NHL.com, so there is a pretty good idea that McKenna, Reid, Carels, Stenberg and Malhotra will be the top five picks in some order.