When Team USA won the World Cup in 1996, the group was loaded with forwards. It was the era of Mike Modano, Keith Tkachuk and Brett Hull. Some of the all-time greats.
Of course, Mike Richter was an absolute wall in goal, but the Americans don’t win it all that year without Chris Chelios and Brian Leetch anchoring the defense.
A World Cup-winning team needs balance throughout its lineup, and it doesn’t hurt to have a couple future Hall of Famers on defense.
The groups participating in this year’s World Cup more than qualify, with blue lines that are absolutely stacked, especially the country at the top of this list. Here’s a look at the rankings of the World Cup defense groups:
1. Team Sweden
There’s a good debate to be had between Sweden and Canada as the top defense in this tournament, but Sweden’s ability to get the puck quickly out of their defensive zone with a fast, mobile, offensively gifted defense gives them the edge.
When a team can leave John Klingberg at home because it already has Erik Karlsson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Victor Hedman, it has a pretty good defense.
“I would take the Swedes [over Canada] because of the way they move the puck,” said one World Cup team executive. “They just move it better than Canada.”
The Swedes even improved when Hampus Lindholm joined the group in place of the injured Niklas Kronwall, setting up a possible pairing of two under-appreciated Western Conference defensemen in him and Ekman-Larsson.
“Ekman-Larsson and anybody would be a good-looking pair,” said a Western Conference NHL scout.
There is duplication on this defense in terms of style of play but that may only reinforce this team’s identity. It’s the deepest defense in the tournament, and the most dynamic.
“If your power play has Ekman-Larsson and Karlsson on it, you’re in good shape. And you’re not even getting to Hedman,” said an NHL head coach and World Cup assistant.
2. Team Canada
Really, it’s 1A and 1B among the World Cup defenses. It’s just a matter of which style you prefer. The Swedes are loaded with offensive puck-movers and Canada has a nice balance of skill, size and offensive ability.
Canada also has the game’s best defenseman in Drew Doughty. That helps, especially with fellow Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith missing the tournament.
Doughty elevates his game as the stakes increase, and those who know him well expect a big tournament out of a player who grew up close to host city Toronto.
“His hometown is London, right next to Toronto. I’m sure he’s going to be fired up for that,” said Team Europe captain Anze Kopitar. “Drew is a great player, arguably the best defenseman in the NHL. Everybody knows it.”
If there’s a flaw (aside from the absence of Keith), it’s that they don’t have as many high-end passing and puck movers as the Swedes have. And yes, we realize, we’re definitely splitting hairs here on a defense that has Shea Weber, Alex Pietrangelo, Jake Muzzin, Jay Bouwmeester, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Brent Burns behind Doughty.
"Bouwmeester isn’t necessarily a smooth passing guy,” said the executive. “Muzzin isn’t. Weber isn’t necessarily -- he isn’t your classic tape-to-tape guy. He’s a classic power guy. With Sweden, I see all the guys being able to move the puck forward.”
3. Team USA
The management group passed on talented defensemen like Justin Faulk, Kevin Shattenkirk and Keith Yandle in the name of team-building to construct this defense, with the return of both Erik Johnson and Jack Johnson to the program being the most debatable calls.
Still, it goes to show you how deep this country is on defense when that kind of talent is watching at home and there’s still a top three defense on the ice.
A potential top four of Ryan McDonagh, John Carlson, Dustin Byfuglien and Ryan Suter is fantastic, and includes a wide range of skills. This is assuming John Tortorella keeps Byfuglien on defense.
“He’s certainly going to be happier on defense,” said one NHL scout. “I can tell you that.”
There’s not necessarily a Leetch or Chelios manning this defense, but those are two of the best to ever play for the country. Suter is a legitimate No. 1 defenseman and can play a ton of minutes for Tortorella. Byfuglien is a dynamic, physical presence who must be accounted for at all times by opposing teams.
Carlson is another player with strong offensive instincts that gives the defense a scoring threat.
“The trouble is that Carlson and Byfuglien are similar in a lot of ways in that there’s a lot of risk and reward there,” said the scout. “So you have to be careful how much of that you have out there. The other guys have offense, but their risk/reward levels are a lot less than Byfuglien and Carlson.”
4. Team North America
What they lack in experience they make up for in high-end talent on defense, which is pretty much the case across the board for the "Young Guns." Aaron Ekblad is a well-rounded No. 1 who already showed his offensive ability with a couple goals in early action during this tournament. The coaching staff is going to lean heavily on him.
Deploying Shayne Gostisbehere is like having another forward on the ice and considering the forwards this group has, it makes Team North America really difficult to defend.
Columbus Blue Jackets teammates Seth Jones and Ryan Murray arrived with chemistry, and is a rock solid pairing.
“Seth Jones is good, he’s just trying to find his way still a little bit,” said the scout.
There’s a wide range of skill and a decision to be made at the bottom with guys like Colton Parayko and Jacob Trouba fighting for playing time. Parayko came in against Team Europe and was pretty dynamic for such a huge body. Trouba provides a physical edge that this team is going to need at some point in the tournament.
“I liked his [first exhibition] game,” said Team Europe assistant and Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice of Trouba. “He’s a big, strong, young defenseman who is just going to get better and better.”
5. Team Russia
The Russians haven’t necessarily been known lately for producing high-end defensemen. Andrei Markov might be their best, and he’s 37 years old. The Russians could use a Sergei Gonchar or Sergei Zubov to push them up the list.
There’s still more than enough to work with on this defense considering just how skilled the Russians are at forward, with Markov, Alexei Emelin, Dmitry Kulikov and Dmitry Orlov all key pieces.
“These guys know how to play the team concept and structure to their game,” said the executive. “Kulikov is a pretty darn good player. Markov has been a stud in the NHL forever. I really like Orlov. Compare them to the Team Finland, they all can play. Don’t underestimate anybody.”
The two wild cards are Orlov and Nikita Zaitsev, who is coming over to play with Toronto this season. Here are one scout’s thoughts on both players:
Orlov: “I love the kid but he’s a whirling dervish. He’s a cowboy. He just goes. It’s like the jockey fell off the horse and it’s just running wild. He’s got great spirit, a smile on his face, makes highlight-reel moves but there’s no rhyme or reason for whatever he does.”
Zaitsev: “The book on him is he’s a skater and puck handler but without the puck he’s below average. He’s got offensive upside but there’s some question whether he’ll show it at the NHL level.”
6. Team Finland
As this list shifts to the second half, it includes teams with talented defensemen but a corps that thins out as you work down the depth chart.
There’s a potential Finnish top four of Olli Maatta, Sami Vatanen, Rasmus Ristolainen and Esa Lindell that is strong. A little green, but loaded with talent.
Then it drops off after that.
“They’re very young on defense but it doesn’t matter to me,” said the executive. “These kids are all great hockey players. They have an element they bring to the table that’s hard to argue. I think they’re all pretty darn good defensemen and behind them they have a good goaltender. I think they’re pretty good. They always come to play and that’s the fun thing.”
There could be potential mismatches in this tournament when defensemen Jyrki Jokipakka and Sami Lepisto hit the ice, but Finland plays so effectively as a five-man unit it shouldn’t prevent them from contending.
“If you perceive any part of them as a weakness, you’re wrong,” said one coach. “Their identity is they play well tougher. There is no weakness because of the cohesive way that they play.”
7. Team Czech Republic
Mobility is a concern for this group, since the most established NHL defensemen on the roster are Roman Polak and Zbynek Michalek.
Blackhawks fans will want to tune in to Czech Republic games to get a glimpse of Michal Kempny, an import the Blackhawks believe will really help their defense this season.
There’s not much depth here, and the Czechs will have to rely on playing a sound system and team game to upset the favorites.
“They’re a little bit slow with Michalek. Andrej Sustr has played in the league awhile and Polak is a grizzly guy,” said the executive. “They’re a little bit below the others but their forwards are pretty good. I’m curious to see how they play as a unit.”
8. Team Europe
There’s no way to sugarcoat it. This defense isn’t good. Coach Ralph Krueger is going to have to be a miracle worker to keep games close. In two games against Team North America, the Europe defense allowed 11 goals -- and it could have been more.
The saving grace is that Team Europe has Roman Josi, one of the game’s best defensemen. It’s too bad he has to leave the ice.
“They’re terrible except for Josi,” said one scout. “I feel sorry for Josi. It’s too bad he isn’t a Swede instead of being from Switzerland.”
Josi is great and almost single-handedly moves this group up a notch, but it drops off so dramatically after him that they’re stuck in the bottom. Five years ago, a defense with Christian Ehrhoff, Dennis Seidenberg and Mark Streit would have been formidable, but all three are showing their age.
For Team Europe to upset a team or two, Zdeno Chara has to play on top of his game and it’s asking a lot for a 39-year-old defenseman to arrive to a tournament in September ready to go.
He’s already slowing down, and he looked rusty against Team North America.
“It takes a lot of RPMs to get him going,” said one coach. “It takes a good five or six games to get that body going. Guys are looking at this tournament like it’s February and it’s not.”