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Canada’s Brad Gushue will be the crowd favourite to win the world men’s curling championship, but the St. John’s, N.L., skip faces a deep field of talented teams at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

Gushue defeated incumbent Kevin Koe 7-6 earlier this month to win the Tim Hortons Brier and earn the right to wear the Maple Leaf. Koe captured the world title a year ago claiming Canada’s first men’s gold at the event since 2012.

Can Gushue, the 2006 Olympic gold medallist, make it back-to-back championships for Canada? Here are five teams (and two dark horses) he’s going to have to topple as they all have a legit shot at making the podium.

Sweden

If Gushue isn’t the odds-on favourite to win, then it has to be Niklas Edin. Ranked No. 1 on the World Curling Tour’s year-to-date standings, Edin has had a stellar season winning five titles including his first couple Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling championships. Edin’s victory at the WFG Masters in October marked the first time a non-Canadian men’s team had even won a Grand Slam. He also finished runner-up at the Meridian Canadian Open in January losing in the final to Gushue no less.

Rookie second Rasmus Wrana, fresh out of the junior ranks, has provided a spark for the team up front this year.

Edin is a two-time world champion with gold medals in Victoria in 2013 and Halifax in 2015, can you say dream smasher?

Scotland

Like Edin, Scottish skip David Murdoch is a two-time world champion as well with gold-medal wins at Lowell, Mass., in 2006 and Moncton in 2009. The quartet earned silver at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. While they haven’t won a tour event this year, they’ve made a pair of appearances in the finals and won four titles last season.

Switzerland

Peter de Cruz took bronze in his world championship debut in 2014 knocking off Koe for the third spot on the podium. The 2010 world junior champ throws second stones while calling the game, an unorthodox approach for sure, but one that works him.

Fourth Benoit Schwarz and third Claudio Paetz represented Switzerland at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

De Cruz enters on a high note after advancing to the playoffs for the first time at a Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event by qualifying at the Princess Auto Elite 10 earlier this month.

USA

John Shuster took the bronze medal at the worlds a year ago, so his team should be in the conversation for the playoffs once again. The Duluth, Minn., squad struggled earlier in the season, but have turned things around in 2017 qualifying for the playoffs at the Meridian Canadian Open and capturing the U.S. title. Shuster made an impressive shot to win his national championship by drawing to the four-foot circle with the last rock of the final against Todd Birr.

Japan

Japan has yet to medal at the world men’s curling championship, but they’ve steadily improved over the years and Yusuke Morozumi offers them their best chance at getting onto the podium. Morozumi skipped Japan to fourth place a year ago falling to Shuster in the bronze-medal match.

Dark horse picks:

– Norway’s Steffen Walstad might not wear the funny Loudmouth pants of compatriot Thomas Ulsrud, but the future is now for the young skip. Walstad’s team has had a strong run on tour this season, ranked 16th on the WCT’s year-to-date, and defeated Ulsrud to earn the right to represent Norway at the worlds. Considering Ulsrud is a world champion and has made 12 appearances on the global stage, that’s quite the feat alone.

– Jaap van Dorp skips Netherlands in just the country’s second appearance at the world championship. Van Dorp won his first tour title this season taking the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard Tier 2 event. He also faced off against Gushue in the Swiss Cup Basel final last season (Gushue was victorious 7-2).