PHOTO COURTESY GINO DE PAOLI MEDICINE HAT TIGERS
Medicine Hat Tigers prospects Liam and Markus Ruck sit in front of parents Nina, Derek and brother Landon while signing their WHL Scholarship and Development Agreements at prospects camp over the weekend.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Much like the Fast and Furious movie franchise, Sunday was a day all about family for the two newest Medicine Hat Tigers.
Twin brothers Liam and Markus Ruck signed their WHL Scholarship and Development Agreements with the Tigers following the club’s prospects camp over the weekend. The duo of first-round picks in the 2023 WHL draft were joined by mom Nina, dad Derek and younger brother Landon.
Having the family there for the weekend and when they signed was a surreal moment for Liam and both were impressed by what the Tigers had to offer on and off the ice.
“You obviously dream about playing in this league and I hear it’s just awesome,” Liam said.
“Everything’s super well ran here,” said Markus. “They do everything professionally and I can’t wait to get started.
The duo competed alongside 22 other players who took part in the Tigers’ three-day prospects camp. Head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins was encouraged the twins wanted to sign with them after the camp.
“It’s always important, the future of you club always comes out of your draft,” Desjardins said. “It’s really important you get your top guys signed and both the Ruck boys are excellent players … it was a good day for our organization.”
Liam was the Tigers’ ninth overall pick in May 11th’s WHL draf, with Markus selected 21st overall after Medicine Hat made a trade to move up eight picks in the draft.
After the twin brothers fulfilled media duties and had taken more wide-smile photos than a campaigning politician, it was time for the star of the Ruck family to speak, 12-year-old Landon.
He was impressed with the weekend and seeing his brothers at the WHL level.
“I love the gym and the dressing room is really cool and it has a great history here,” Landon said.
When he gets his first Tigers Ruck jersey he says it won’t have either of his brothers’ numbers on the back but will don the number eight he wears in honour of Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar, being a defender himself.
Landon also had a quick answer for which brother is better than the other.
“They’re both similar, Liam is more of a goal scorer and Markus is more of a play maker, they’re both pretty even,” Landon said.
As the Ruck family continued their tour in the Tigers’ dressing room and workout facilities, Desjardins shared how much it meant to him how happy the Ruck family were with their sons signing.
“It’s amazing, one is singing with the left hand, one signed with the right hand, I have never seen that with twins before, one shoots right, one shoots left, it’s pretty special,” Desjardins said. “It’s hard enough to get one player at that level, to get two is incredible and both guys are high-end guys.
“It’s exciting when you see a family and you don’t just get lucky, it’s not like they just woke up and were that kind of players. Their parents put in lots and lots of time and lots of effort to help them get there. So when you come to this level, it’s a family thing. It’s not just a player, it’s a family thing and probably family dream, with the family working together to get there.”
He was more impressed and all smiles talking about the youngest Ruck and potential future Tigers blue liner’s interview skills.
“He’s going to be a good one, he’s so excited about his brothers,” Desjardins said. “He’s funny, he just sits back there and he’s so proud of them and so excited by it and it’s good for him to get up and talk.”
