Draft Radar Scouting Report: The Ruck Twins
For the first time in 26 years, a pair of twins will be drafted—and both Ruck brothers could land on the Rangers' radar. Here's what they bring to the table.
There’s no shortage of exciting talent and fascinating stories in this year's draft class. But lost in the shuffle is that, for the first time in 26 years, a pair of twins will be drafted. Hailing from Osoyoos, British Columbia, Markus and Liam Ruck have both spent the last two seasons playing in the WHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers. Not only are they both coming off impressive 100-point seasons, but the two helped the Tigers win the 2025 WHL Championship.
Both listed as top-50 prospects in this draft class, Markus and Liam will become the sixth set of twins to have both been drafted and, presumably, play in the NHL. New York Rangers fans should be familiar, seeing as one of those NHL twins was one the greatest goaltenders of all time and most recent face of the franchise. Drafted in the year 2000, Henrik and Joel Lundqvist were the most recent twins to have made it to the NHL. Selected the year prior, Henrik and Daniel Sedin not only made history as a set of twins to make it to the Hall of Fame, they were the only twins to be drafted by and play their entire careers on the same team.
Before the Lundqvists and Sedins there was Peter and Chris Ferraro, who were both drafted by the Rangers in 1992. (There's no relation to current broadcaster and also former Ranger Ray Ferraro.) While Peter was a first round draft pick once upon a time, neither he nor Chris hit the 100 games played mark at the NHL level. In the 80s’ there was Patrik and Peter Sundstrom, the latter of which was another Rangers draft pick. The first twins to play in the league were Rich and Ron Sutter, who were just two of six siblings that made up one of the most famous hockey families in the history of the league.
But, enough about the past. Let’s talk about the future. Markus and Liam have all the potential in the world to be the next set of twins to take the league by storm.
Liam and Markus Ruck
Of the two, Liam is the more coveted player, as he’s the one doing the majority of the goalscoring. Ranked 20th on NHL Central Scouting’s North American List, Ruck is projected to go somewhere between picks 20 and 30 in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft.
What stands out the most with Liam are his offensive instincts, ability to shoot the puck and, of course, score goals. With 104 points on the season, 45 of which being goals, Ruck has all the fixings to max out as a second liner. Rangers fans especially will like this comparison, but he reminds me of a less physical Ryan Callahan. At 6-0, 177 pounds, Liam has a similar build as Callahan and is like him in that he’s a natural right winger who is great around the net, forechecks with purpose, can kill penalties, and has the scoring touch of an effective middle-six forward.
As for Markus, he solidified himself as the leading point producer in the WHL this season. While 108 points is an attention grabbing number, it is worth noting that practically all of those 87 assists came as a result of his chemistry with brother Liam. Markus had a huge spike in point production this season, having finished the year prior with just 29 points in 68 games.
It’s difficult to determine whether Markus is a phenomenal playmaker or just a solid player who has insane and unique chemistry playing on a line with his twin brother. They’re similar in the sense that Markus also has a promising compete level, gets sticks in lanes, and thrives in the offensive zone. The main difference is that he’s less of a goalscorer and more of a playmaker, as his vision and two-way abilities are the things that stand out the most about his game.
Regular Season
Given the aforementioned point totals, it should be obvious that Liam and Markus led the Tigers in points all throughout the regular season. Liam was tied with Bryce Pickford for the team’s lead in goals, as they each had 45 on the season. Of his 45 goals, 16 of them were power play goals, and Liam finished second on the team in that category with Pickford ahead of him by three goals. As for assists, Markus was far and away the team’s leader with 97 total assists, 38 of which coming on the power play. Liam finished in a not-so-close second as he registered 59 total assists on the season, 23 of which coming with the man advantage.
