Liam, Markus Ruck Make History as Penguins Select Twin Brothers in 2026 NHL Draft

The Pittsburgh Penguins selected center Markus Ruck with the No. 39 overall pick in the second round of the 2026 NHL draft on Saturday, reuniting him with his twin brother, Liam Ruck.

On Friday night, the Pens used the No. 22 overall pick in the first round of the draft to take Liam, leaving hockey fans to wait with bated breath to see if the organization would be able to secure the second Ruck twin on Saturday.

The Ruck brothers join an exclusive group of twins drafted to the same NHL team in the same year. The most notable example occurred in 1999 when the Vancouver Canucks took Daniel and Henrik Sedin with the second and third overall picks.

Prior to the draft, the Ruck twins suggested that they would like to end up on the same team if possible.

When informed by TSN's Mark Masters that TSN director of scouting Craig Button projected the Canucks to take both Ruck brothers in his mock draft, Liam said, "We like to see that. We obviously know that maybe it won't be the easiest thing for a team to pull off, but we do have hope that someone can do it."

Markus then expressed his belief that he and Liam are at their best when playing together, telling Masters, "We've spent a lot of time together and had a lot of practice together. We watch a lot of video together at home. I think that helps a lot. We spent 18 years of our life together and barely been apart. I think we are better together. But we'd both do well apart as well."

During the 2025-26 season, the Ruck twins were the top two scorers in the WHL, playing together for the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Markus led the way with 108 points (21 goals and 87 assists), followed by Liam with 104 points (45 goals and 59 assists).

Liam and Markus will play one more season at Medicine Hat before testing themselves at the NCAA level in 2027-28, as they both committed to play at the University of North Dakota.

Of course, that plan could change if the Penguins sign them to entry-level contracts and bring them to the big club or to the AHL before then.

Should Markus and Liam eventually reach the NHL and play together with the Penguins, they will join a short list of twins who played on the same team at that level.

The Sedin twins are the most famous example, but Rich and Ron Sutter both played for the Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues at the same time as well, while Peter and Chris Ferraro played together for the New York Rangers.