Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - In the days leading up to the 2026 NHL Draft in Buffalo, WGR will provide profiles on some players that could be available for the Sabres with the 27th overall pick in the first round.
It is some unfamiliar territory for the Sabres, picking late in the first round of the NHL Draft after the team managed to clinch a playoff berth for the first time in 15 years. For the last several years, it was about examining the top prospects available in the draft class, whereas this year, it may be more so about finding depth to add to the prospect pool.
It hasn't been uncommon for a set of brothers to carve their path to the NHL and play with one another in the world's best league. You have the Staal brothers, the Stastny brothers, the Hughes brothers, the Foligno brothers and many other examples.
But it isn't every day when twin brothers manage to play their way to the NHL.
First there was Ron and Rich Sutter, followed by Peter and Chris Ferraro, and more recently you had Henrik and Daniel Sedin, followed by Henrik and Joel Lundqvist. The Lundqvist twins are the only set of twins to have never played on the same team, at one point, in their NHL careers.
Meet the next set of twin brothers hoping to make their mark on the NHL in this year's draft class: Liam and Markus Ruck.
The Ruck brothers have had the luxury of growing up together playing in the junior ranks, from their time playing in the Okanagan program in British Columbia to playing with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Western Hockey League.
And it wasn't often anyone would see the Ruck brothers playing away from each other on the ice, both filling massive roles in the success of the Tigers this past season with Markus being more of the setup man and Liam being the finisher.
It isn't easy being able to tell the difference between the two brothers, other than them wearing different numbers and having their first name initial on the name plate of their jerseys. Both are just north of 5-foot-11, with Markus being a quarter-inch taller than his brother. Both also have a similar stature, with Liam listed as weighing just eight more pounds. One key difference between the Osoyoos, British Columbia natives is Liam shoots from the right side, while Markus is a left-handed shot.
Liam is the shooter of the two brothers. He's considered to have one of the better shots of anyone in the draft, and is able to utilize a nice variety of methods to put the puck in the back of the net. He can beat goalies with his quick release off a wrist shot or power a shot from the off wing on a one-timer. Liam has the smarts to get into space for a scoring chance, or the guts to win a battle in scoring position and finish off a passing play. He's also lethal with his shot from in-close or from far-out.
His 45 goals was good enough to finish in a tie for second place in the entire WHL with teammate Bryce Pickford, who's a former third-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in last year's draft.
As for Markus, his 108 points (21+87) were good for the league lead in overall scoring, finishing four points ahead of his twin brother for second place.
Markus is the driver of play with his excellent puck-handling skills and exceptional vision to find open passing or shooting lanes to create scoring chances. While he doesn't nearly have the finishing ability as his brother, Markus is more skilled to be the guy making plays happen for his linemates, and also being the guy helping in transition from defense to offense.
Despite not being the biggest of players on the ice, both Ruck brothers get around the ice well with good burst and acceleration on offensive rushes. They are also strong on pucks, and willing to go to work to win a battle or maintain possession.
Size will be an area both Ruck brothers can improve upon as they develop. Both players have the room to bulk up and get even stronger on their feet to not only improve their skating, but also be even tougher and more frustrating to play again on and off the puck.
It will be interesting to see if any team in the later portion of the NHL Draft would be willing to swing a trade in order to be in position to take both Ruck brothers and keep them playing together into the professional ranks.
Regardless of how the draft plays out, both brothers still make a compelling case for teams in this class of prospects.
Both twin brothers could end up being first-round picks in the draft
Both twin brothers could end up being first-round picks in the draft
