By Jared Clinton, features writer

With the 22nd overall selection in the 2026 NHL draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Liam Ruck. Then, 17 picks later, the Penguins ensured that Liam would be reunited with his twin brother, Markus, as the 39th pick saw them select Markus Ruck. The twins wanted to be together, and the Penguins granted their wish.

Within family circles of all shapes and sizes, there exists one truism: if and when the opportunity arises to take a playful swipe at a sibling, one must take it. Whether that’s by an older sibling, younger sibling, half-sibling or step-sibling, it doesn’t matter. The rules of the jungle simply state that one must deliver the burn – or risk being burnt.

That this is the understood and accepted way of the world makes Markus Ruck’s hesitance to deliver a forceful, two-handed dunk on his twin brother, Liam, so instructive. Because when asked if the two have ever squared off in any meaningful on-ice competition, Markus hems. He haws. Then he relays that he thinks – thinks! – his Team Black downed Liam’s Team White at Hockey Canada’s U-17 training camp in the summer of 2024.

Let us dispel any doubt. Markus’ side did indeed win that game. His memory has also served him well in recalling it was a close one, a 4-3 shootout victory – though Liam, with an assist, was the lone Ruck twin to find the scoresheet. But before furthering this notion that the entire universe has been flipped on its ear by this show of fraternal sportsmanship, let it be said that if Markus is being at all coy, he’s only willing to give Liam so much grace.

To wit, Markus adds: “And then we played each other once at the BC Cup. I ended up winning that one, though.”

So even though he won’t rub it in, he’s two-and-oh against his brother? “Exactly,” he laughed.

Like most things, however, the reticence to partake in any Ruck-on-Ruck one-upmanship is a quality Markus and Liam share. Rare are the moments the Rucks, identical twins separated in birth by eight minutes, haven’t spent together. From their first step on skates as toddlers on through to the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers, where they’ve spent the past two full seasons, the Ruck twins have bordered on inseparable.

There are, of course, ways to distinguish Markus (the eight-minute elder, by the way) and Liam. They are what is referred to as mirror twins. They share physical characteristics but differ in some traits – for example, their handedness. Liam shoots right; Markus is a lefty. It also bears out in their profiles as players. Liam is the sharpshooter of the two, while Markus more often plays the role of setup man. But ask both, and you’ll get the same answer: those small details are about all that sets them apart. From interests and hobbies on down through personality, Markus and Liam are stereotypical twins.

That, then, might help explain the nonexistence of a sibling rivalry. Don’t conflate the absence of some baked-in sibling spite for a lack of friendly competition, though.

Off ice, in everything from pickleball to video games (where Markus insists he’s the better Among Us player, and Liam touts himself as the reigning champ in Brawl Stars), the brothers battle for bragging rights. On ice, too, going 1-on-1 in drills is a surefire way to bring out a bit of edge. But it’s all in service of driving each other toward being the best versions of themselves.

“It’s honestly the best thing, having a guy to push you every single day, and we’re similar in every single aspect,” Liam said. “Having someone who is very similar to you to compete with is pretty helpful so that you’re honest with yourself and push yourself to be at your best every rep.”

That’s been important for honing individual skills – where the Rucks have put in the hours to improve their skating, puckhandling and playmaking – and has also proven an asset across entire areas of their games. Consider last summer, when Medicine Hat Tigers coach-GM Willie Desjardins chatted with the brothers about plans for the 2025-26 season. Absent, explained Markus, was talk of the penalty kill. They didn’t factor into Desjardins’ shorthanded designs.

“You never want to hear that you can’t do something or probably won’t do something,” Markus said. “At least, I don’t like hearing that. When we heard that, it was like, ‘OK, he doesn’t think that right now, but how can we change that?’ ”

So the Rucks put their heads together, spent time watching video and set out to prove to Desjardins they could be assets in all situations, including the PK. They told their coach as much when they arrived at camp. The result? In time, Markus and Liam became part of the regular shorthanded rotation in Medicine Hat, including in the post-season. “The coaches know what they’re doing, so if we’re trusted by them, it’s pretty big,” Liam said.

That trust has made them a focal point in Medicine Hat this season, as the duo has been thrust into far more significant roles than during their rookie WHL campaigns. The way they have performed under the pressure, too, has increased the spotlight on the brothers and boosted their stock as prospects. And while they could both easily brush off any suggestion the extra attention has had an impact, they’re open and honest about feeling the pressure of draft eligibility.

“It’s all we could think about at the start of the season,” Markus said. “It hurt us a little bit with our success at the start of the year.”

What helped the Rucks refocus was an early-season conversation with former NHLer Aaron Volpatti, who now offers his services as a mental coach. As a result of those talks, Liam and Markus stopped concerning themselves with what they couldn’t control – primarily, how others perceived their games – and instead turned their attention inward.

“That was a big help,” Markus said. “Since then, we’ve been having so much more fun and not worrying about the draft. It’s led to more success on the ice, and we’ve been having a lot more fun doing it.”

The shift is apparent in their numbers. From the start of 2025-26 through November, both were effective and steady scorers – Markus’ line read six goals, 30 points in 27 outings (1.11 points per game), while Liam managed nine goals, 26 points (.96 PPG) through the same number of contests.

But the twins exploded from December onward, registering matching – yes, seriously, matching – 78-point outputs through Medicine Hat’s final 41 games (1.9 PPG). At season’s end, Markus had a WHL-best 87 assists and 108 points, while Liam’s 45 goals and 104 points were both the second-best totals on the circuit.

It’s this tale of two seasons that has played a significant part in the lack of consensus on where, exactly, the Rucks belong among this crop of prospects.

Take NHL Central Scouting, which rated the brothers as second-tier, second- and third-round-caliber talents in its preliminary rankings. By the mid-term rankings, Liam was upgraded to 26th and Markus to 31st among North American skaters.

Then, in the final grading, Liam and Markus were boosted further, to 20th and 23rd. Elsewhere, though, the Rucks rank anywhere from top-20 or even top-15 talents all the way down to mid-second-round draftees. (In this issue, you’ll find Liam at No. 21 and Markus at No. 31.) Perhaps the only consistency is that most put Liam ahead of Markus. Not even the scouts among us can resist the siren song of the goal-scorer, apparently.

 This feature appeared in The Hockey News' Draft Preview issue featuring Gavin McKenna on the cover.

Not only does it feature scouting reports on the NHL draft's top 100 prospects, but it also goes further into the stories of some of the top players available, such as McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Keaton Verhoeff, Carson Carels, JP Hurlbert and the Ruck twins.

There are also team-by-team reports that cover immediate and long-term needs, cap situation, players in the system, shrewd picks from the past and not so shrewd picks. It's worth a read during and after the draft.