NEWS File PHOTOS
Medicine Hat Tigers forwards Markus and Liam Ruck have taken a step in their second WHL season, rising up the NHL Draft lists.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
There’s a lot of attention that comes in a junior hockey player’s NHL Draft season.
Countless conversations with NHL scouts, questionnaires a mile long on top of the usual grind of a season on and off the ice.
It’s a lot to handle for young athletes, made a little easier with a very similar looking sidekick going through the same process.
The Medicine Hat Tigers’ twin forwards, Markus and Liam Ruck, have risen to the occasion in their second full season with the WHL club. Liam sits second on the Tigers in goals (22) and points (58). Markus is fourth on the team in points (55) and leads all CHL skaters with 46 assists.
“It’s pretty cool to be there (atop the CHL), but I want to start scoring a little more to want to be a complete player,” Markus said. “I think I’m doing well with my passing and I want to start scoring some more.”
On Monday they were named to NHL Central Scouting’s mid-term rankings list, Liam coming in at No. 26 and Markus at 31 among North American skaters. Between the stats and the draft rankings, the pair just continue to focus on themselves and their game, knowing that will pay off come June.
“Just like the draft ranking, I try not to focus on the stats too much,” Liam said. “I just play my game and continue to get better out there, and that stuff will come.”
They’re not the first set of twins head coach Willie Desjardins has worked with, coaching NHL Hall of Famers Henrik and Daniel Sedin for three seasons. When the Tigers drafted the Rucks in 2022, Desjardins avoided comparing the sets of twins with one another. Getting to work with the Rucks for a few seasons, he says there’s still a difference but also more similarities.
“If I saw the Sedins at this age, probably a little bit of similarity, the Rucks are getting better every day,” Desjardins said. “They play hard, you watch them and they’re getting way quicker. So I like their game and I like where it’s going.”
One similarity he’s noticed between the Rucks and the Sedins, there is no individual focus, it’s team first and a push for both to succeed.
“It could be hard if they’re both about themselves and it was all about them because now instead of just one guy you’re dealing with, you have way more power because there’s two of them and they’re an elite duo, but they’re all about the team,” Desjardins said.
“So you’re so lucky to be able to coach guys like that. The Sedins were that way, too. I was really fortunate to be able to coach them. So now these guys are similar, they care about their teammates, they play hard and they’re smart.”
The Rucks played a limited role in their first WHL season, not out of skill limitations but because of the full roster the Tigers carried en route to the championship. They were thrusted into bigger roles this season, with more responsibility and harder matchups. While they say it took some adjustment time, they’ve been running along ever since.
“We’ve played with a lot of good players, so it’s nice having that and just trying to do my best for our team,” Markus said. “We didn’t have as big of a role last year, watched all the higher end players we had. So it’s been taking their little things and trying to bring it this year.”
Liam was on the first power play in the second half last year and has been joined by Markus this season, working alongside captain Bryce Pickford, Jonas Woo and Andrew Basha since he rejoined the club. It’s a responsibility they’ve enjoyed.
“It’s been unbelievable. All those guys on that unit have been great,” Liam said. “Bash coming in, obviously it can change some things up. But he stepped in and he was ready to play. Every guy’s been great to play with on that unit and it’s been pretty successful so far.”
They’ve been playing alongside Basha since he returned, flanking the wins of the Calgary Flames prospect. For some players there can be an instinct to defer to the 20-year-old NHL prospect. For them, they all know their own skills and who can find the right look, Liam says.
“He’s a talented player so to get the opportunity to play with him, we have to continue to play our game,” Liam said. “But we compliment how he plays and I think we’ve done a good job with that, and the line’s been pretty good so far.”
They’ve also worked on the Tigers’ penalty kill until this season, often the second forward pairing on the ice during the kills. Desjardins says their sound structure play and their IQ on where to be and what to do created the opportunity.
It’s a showing of trust that goes a long way, Markus says.
“Special teams are a crucial part of the games, especially big games, playoff games, you can’t miss one opportunity,” Markus said. “It can end up in the back of your net or in their net. Special teams are huge and thankful to go out there to penalty kill.”
They can showcase their bag of creativity on the power play, making flashy passes around the horn looking for the right shot. On the penalty kill, it’s all about trust.
“It’s your four-man units, five-man with the goalie, and I think our coaching staff has a good PK plan for us,” Markus said. “As long as we’re all in our spots, we know each other’s tendencies, make passes to the area where our teammates should be. That’s how it’ll click and we’ll get the puck out.”
