NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Liam Ruck celebrates his first goal of the season with twin brother Markus Ruck in the first period of the Tigers' 4-2 win Sept. 21, 2024 at Co-op Place over the Edmonton Oil Kings.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers’ twin dynamic duo will represent Canada next week.
Forwards Markus and Liam Ruck were among 11 WHLers named to Canada’s U18 roster for the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Brno, Czechia and Trencin, Slovakia, from Aug. 11-16.
Liam led all WHL rookies in goals last season, the lone rookie to reach the 25-goal mark in his 41-point season. Older twin-brother Markus had eight goals and 29 points in 62 games played, one more than his brother.
It will be the third time the pair from Osoyoos, B.C. have represented Canada. They donned the red and white at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games held in Gangwon, South Korea, finishing fourth. They won gold with Canada White at the U17 Hockey Challenge later that fall.
The Rucks will be joined by WHL goaltender Carter Elser (Spokane Chiefs), defencemen Carson Carrels (Prince George Cougars), Landon DuPont (Everett Silvertips), Ryan Lin (Vancouver Giants), Giorgos Pantelas (Brandon Wheat Kings), Daxon Rudolph (Prince Albert Raiders), Keaton Verhoeff (Victoria Royals) and forwards Mathis Preston (Spokane Chiefs) and Cooper Williams (Saskatoon Blades).
Canada opens the preliminary round of the Hlinka Gretzky Cup against Finland on Aug. 11 at 7:30 a.m. MST. Canada will also face Switzerland and Czechia on Aug. 12 and 13, respectively, before the tournament concludes with the medal games on Aug. 16. Before the event, the U18 team will play pre-tournament games in Budapest against Hungary’s U20 team on Aug. 7 and Piestany against Slovakia on Aug. 9.
