CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP (93.7 The Fan) – In their lives they’ve only been part for four days, as the Pens open development camp Monday at the UPMC Lemieux Center, the Ruck twins are on different teams.
There are three different groups that divide the 35 players consisting mostly of recent draft picks and undrafted free agents. Having seen what the twins did together at Medicine Hat in 2025-26, 212 points between them in just one season, they want to see what they can do apart. If apart is only by a one-hour start time.
“I think it’s for sure important to play apart from each other in case of injury or we are not on the same team for whatever reason,” Markus Ruck said. “It’s very important to play apart, I think it’s good for us. I think we play better together when we are working off each other, but it’s for sure important to play without one another as well.”
“Yeah, it’s been awhile,” Liam Ruck said of being on a different team. “It’s always fun to compete with him. Seeing all the great players here, it’s going to be fun to compete with him.”
Both brothers said they never fight, they share the same interests on and off the ice. The main ways to tell them apart is their nose is slightly different, maybe their smile and if the helmet is off, their hair isn’t quite the same.
There is one other difference, Markus likes ketchup, but Liam doesn’t. That point followed up to Markus asking if he likely only Heinz. He said then it really doesn’t matter. When he found out Heinz was founded here, he smiled and said he needed to change his answer.
The on-ice difference is Liam is more of the scorer and Markus the facilitator.
“It’s just the way it worked out,” Markus Ruck said. “We don’t tell each other ‘hey, you score’, ‘hey, you pass’. It’s kind of the way it unfolds, it’s the way we score most of our goals so we continue to do that.”
Both said it’s been a whirlwind since the NHL Draft Friday and Saturday, moments of stress leading up to the picks followed by moments of insane joy for the family.
“It was so amazing to watch him stand up and hug him because I’m the only one that’s seen every little bit of work that he’s put in,” Markus Ruck said of Liam going first. “To see that payoff is so special. I’m sure he felt the same way when I got up to hug him when I got picked.”
“I may have been happier than win I was picked,” Liam Ruck said. “To hear that he’s coming with me and we get to share our journey together. It means the world to both of us.”
Minutes after Markus was taken in the second round, another dream came true for both of them.
“To be honest my first thought once Liam got drafted was Crosby,” Markus Ruck said. “That’s a guy most people think of when you think of this organization. To get a chance to speak to him was so special, that’s something I always dreamed of, just to speak to him, that was crazy. I still can’t get over that.”
Two days after Markus was drafted, the brothers had not only talked to Crosby, but wore the same colors and skated on the same ice as the Pens all-time leading scorer.
While apart for some drills during development camp, the two are planning to return to the Western Hockey League this year to get physically stronger, and also a desire to play bigger roles than in college to get to Pittsburgh, permanently, as soon as possible.
“All the people here are so nice, welcome you to the rink, welcome you on the streets, everyone kind of welcomes you. It’s the perfect place to play.”
Hear from Liam and Markus Ruck as they are in Pittsburgh this week
Hear from Liam and Markus Ruck as they are in Pittsburgh this week
