Best World Cup defensemen ranked by NHL.com

As preparations for the World Cup of Hockey 2016 hit high gear leading up to the start of the tournament Sept. 17 in Toronto, NHL.com looks at how the teams stand. Seven writers who will cover the two-week event at Air Canada Centre were asked to rank the teams from 1-8 in various categories. Today, we look at which team has the best group of defensemen on its roster.
The World Cup of Hockey 2016 will be a celebration of defensemen. Most of the game's top active defensemen will be showcased during the two-week tournament.
But which team has the best group? That was a difficult question for the writers, given that Team Sweden edged Team Canada 53-52.

It was the closest vote among the categories by the NHL.com panel. Team Sweden received four first-place votes, Team Canada received three.
There are slight differences in talent between the two groups.
Team Sweden features two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators, two-way standout Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning and point-producing Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the Arizona Coyotes, as well as Mattias Ekholm of the Nashville Predators, Niklas Hjalmarsson of the Chicago Blackhawks, Anton Stralman of the Lightning and Hampus Lindholm of the Anaheim Ducks, who was named to the Aug. 24 as an injury replacement for Niklas Kronwall of the Detroit Red Wings.

The defense group for Team Canada consists of Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic of the San Jose Sharks, 2016 Norris Trophy winner Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin of the Los Angeles Kings, Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester of the St. Louis Blues, and Shea Weber of the Montreal Canadiens. Bouwmeester was added to the team as an injury replacement for Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks on Aug. 24.
"The Canadian defense looks like a Norris Trophy ballot," said Nick Cotsonika, NHL.com columnist. "It has the reigning winner in Doughty ... finalists in Burns and Weber, and a candidate in Pietrangelo. Vlasic showed how good he was at the 2014**