I mean top 6 in the league, not a 2nd or 3rd paring.
Just among Swedes there is Hedman, Karlsson, and Forsling that all (right or wrong )were given more ice on Team Sweden during 4 Nations. That is a data point.
There is Maker, Warrensky, Hughes, McAvoy, Fox, Josi, Heskinan, Bouchard, Morrisey, Toews, Slavin, and more.
I like Dahlin but he is not generational when there are this many other defensemen that are arguably in the same category. Me saying top 6 in the league is not easy to defend when I think about it.