NEWS FILE PHOTO
The Medicine Hat Tigers rookie trio of Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll, Liam Ruck and Markus Ruck have rose to the occasion in their first WHL season.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
There’s no challenge too big or ask too daunting for the Medicine Hat Tigers’ youngest line. Just don’t dare try to put mushrooms in their spicy chicken sandwiches.
The Tigers’ kid line of Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll and twins Markus and Liam Ruck has been set-and-forget since the non-twin returned from a lower-body injury at the start of the second-half of the season.
They’re a fourth line that plays like a third line, holding their own in both ends of the ice while starting to find more success as the regular season winds down.
“Every night they keep improving, they have been good defensively, not giving up a lot and then as we’ve seen they can create offensively,” associate coach Joe Frazer said. “This second half, they’ve been a really good line for us.”
For Liam, the youngest of the Tigers’ dynamic twin duo, the second half has brought offensive success that’s seen him join the top power play unit. Entering play Friday, Liam has 12 goals and 19 points since the holiday break, a jump from 10 goals and 16 points in the first half.
He’s enjoyed the offensive success but has liked how he and his brother have progressed through the season.
“Just for me and Markus, just getting faster, getting stronger, are the two keys we’ve been working on this year,” Liam said. “It’s starting to show a little bit and just playing out there with a little more confidence makes it a lot easier.
“Everyone tells you about the grind in this league and I didn’t believe until it hit us. And it’s tough, but you just have to be ready for the next night and next game and just be playing your best.”
Markus attributes the confidence in the second half to the Tigers’ leadership group, helping make them more comfortable as the grind of the season picks up. He’s on the edge of the 30-point plateau on the season, with eight goals and 28 points in 58 games.
“The first 10 or so games in the league was a little scary and then you get used to it and get more confidence,” Markus said. “Our team brings you in, tells you everything’s going to be alright, and it is alright.”
Head coach Willie Desjardins has had the honours of coaching a pair of twins who played at a hall of fame level in Henrik and Daniel Sedin. He won’t compare the 17-year-old Rucks to the Swedish wonders but he raves about their puck skills and responsibility on the ice.
“They’re so good with the puck, like they’re really, really good with the puck,” Desjardins said. “They’re getting faster, they’re getting stronger, they work harder, they don’t complain, they’re just really good kids.
“Sometimes their ice times vary, sometimes they get seven minutes, which isn’t very much, and then they get 12-15 minutes and they’re the same all the time. They’re really good and we’re going to need them to be good if we’re going to be successful.”
The pair, having played alongside one another since they started to skate back in Osoyoos, B.C., have enjoyed playing with a former foe in Gordon-Carroll. All three faced off at the Youth Olympics in Gangwon, South Korea. Gordon-Carroll and team U.S.A. won gold after knocking the Rucks and Canada to the bronze medal game, ultimately losing to Finland.
The trio found quick chemistry, forming a close bond on and off the ice, with the youngest of the bunch in Gordon-Carroll taking driving duties for the group.
Markus says the Salt Lake City, Utah product is a good driver and has no complaints with how he navigates the streets of Medicine Hat. He adds the American forward isn’t too bad on the ice either.
“Shaeffer and Liam, they’re great guys to play with, super skilled and super smart,” Markus said.
For Gordon-Carroll, while jumping onto a line with twins looked easy from the outside, he says it took a lot of learning. Beyond telling one identical twin from the other, he says he had to build trust with the pair who have trusted one another from day one.
“Those two played with each other for their entire lives and I’m coming in, I need to learn what they’ve learned because they’ve played together,” Gordon-Carroll said. “I had to bind into them and they just had to trust me that I can work with them. And they’ve done so much and I’ve put in the work for them.
“My success is their success and their success is mine. So I want the best for them and they want the same for me.”
The 16-year-old has six goals and 24 points in 51 games this season, offensive numbers he’s not worried about. Gordon-Carroll, like all players, would like to end each night with a pile of points but he’s more content at ensuring the team picks up a pair of points every night.
“My role here, we’re trying to win a championship this year, I’m not trying to go for points,” Gordon-Carroll said. “I’m trying to win a championship this year, and whatever the coaches and my teammates need for me, I’ll give it to them.”
He’s found his biggest improvement to be in the defensive end, staying confident during the rare times they’re locked into their end with the puck on the oppositions stick. It’s the same improvement Desjardins has seen from the Utah product.
“I see Shaeffer being a little better defensively than the Rucks and the Rucks maybe being a little bit more offensively, but all three guys are elite at both areas,” Desjardins said. “I’m not saying the Rucks are bad defensive or Shaeffer is bad offensively, because they’re all great.
“The Rucks are elite and Shaeffer is really strong and can battle down low. We’re lucky to have that little different flavour too with those 16-year-olds, they make a great line the way they play.”
On the ice Gordon-Carroll enjoys his team-first role, and away from the rink he embraces his role as driver. He says the Rucks like summer music like the Lumineers and Bruce Springsteen, listening with the windows down like it’s June in B.C.
They have their routines beyond listening to music, which includes trips to Chopped Leaf after practice for spicy chicken sandwiches.
They all play different styles of hockey, different goals that cumulate to a group success on the ice. But they all agree on one thing off the ice,
“No mushrooms, we don’t like mushrooms,” Gordon-Carroll said.
