‘It’s a little deeper’: Ruck twins hoping to stay together after NHL draft

The Ruck brothers could both hear their names called during Friday’s first round at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

The 18-year-old forwards from Osoyoos, B.C., wound up finishing 1-2 in Western Hockey League scoring in 2025-26 — Markus put up 108 points (21 goals, 87 assists), while Liam registered 104 points (45 goals, 59 assists).

The siblings were thankful to be drafted by Medicine Hat for their junior journey. The likelihood of again getting the same news in the days ahead are low, but they remain optimistic an NHL club will pull strings to keep them together.

“So special having my twin brother with me every step of the way,” Markus Ruck said at the recent Canadian Hockey League awards in Toronto. “I think the longest I’ve spent without him was four days. We’ve pretty much spent every day of our lives together.”

Liam said it’s only natural to want to keep the Ruck band assembled.

“Being twins, it’s a little deeper,” he said of their bond. “But at the end of the day, (the teams are) in the driver’s seat and they make the decision. We do hope to end up on the same team, but if not, we’re still just going to be at our best.”

Liam, who like his brother stands six feet tall and is 10 pounds heavier at 177, said off the ice might be the biggest challenge.

“It would be an adjustment,” he said. “Being with him every day, it’s something that drives us to get better, pushing each other.”

Liam Ruck, a winger, was pegged as the 20th-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting in April, while Markus, a centre, slotted in at No. 23.

And while the brothers are nearly impossible to tell apart in certain situations, being so-called “mirror twins” has defined and separated them in other ways.

“We do everything the opposite,” Markus explained. “I’m a lefty on the ice, I’m a lefty batting, golfing, and he’s a righty. I write with my right hand, he writes with his left.

“On the ice, he’s more of a goal-scorer and I’m more of a playmaker.”

Pickford, a Montreal third-round pick last June, said some of the things the Rucks do with the puck is hard to fathom.

“They don’t even have to look,” he said. “It’s like they almost just know where each other is.”

Pickford added how the brothers carry themselves away from the rink is also impressive.

“Not everybody sees how nice of people they are,” he said. “They’re the kindest kids I’ve ever met in my life. They’re always smiling, they’re always laughing. They’ve never come into the rink with a bad attitude. That just speaks on their character.”

Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins, who worked with Henrik and Daniel Sedin when he was behind the Vancouver Canucks’ bench in the NHL, sees similarities in how both sets of twins’ approach their business.

“Hank and Danny were exceptional, just the standards they held each other to,” Desjardins said in a phone interview. “I can’t imagine, with the Sedins, only having one of them. They were so good together. The Sedins are in a class of their own, but Liam and Markus are like that.

“How well they see the ice, push each other and are super supportive.”

That support came in handy early in this past season’s schedule when the Rucks, who have committed to the University of North Dakota in 2027-28, were feeling the draft-year pressure.

Along with their family and agent, the brothers decided to speak with a sports psychologist in hopes of refocusing and calming nerves.

“Teaching us ways to set our minds free,” Markus said. “Breathing exercises, visualization. It helped us a lot. We just had a lot more fun in the second half.

“The mental side’s a big part of the game.”

A game the Ruck boys hope to continue playing side-by-side in the NHL one day.

“I would miss him off the ice, but I think on the ice, it would take care of itself,” Markus said. “If I play with any player as smart as he is, we’ll make stuff happen. Maybe there’s a little bit of twin twin-ness there, but playing with smart players, it’ll be pretty much the same.”

“We’d get used to it,” Liam added. “We’d stay in touch and make it normal.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2026.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

‘It’s a little deeper’: Ruck twins hoping to stay together after NHL draft

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