NHL draft: B.C.’s Ruck twins get their wish after Penguins draft both

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Markus and Liam Ruck got their wish.

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The twins from Osoyoos, who were so in sync as linemates with the Medicine Hat Tigers this past WHL season that they regularly drew comparisons to Vancouver Canuck greats Daniel and Henrik Sedin, had told teams before the NHL draft in Buffalo this weekend that they hoped to be selected by the same club.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins made it happen, taking Liam at No. 22 and Markus at No. 39.

It marks the first time brothers were picked in the same draft since 2018, when twins Christian (No. 196 — New York Islanders) and Cole Krygier (No. 201 — Florida Panthers) both had their names called. It’s most notable sibling selection since the Canucks took Daniel (No. 2) and Henrik (No. 3) in 1999.

“It was stressful,” Markus told reporters in Buffalo of waiting to see where he might be drafted. “I was praying and hoping that Pittsburgh would take me. And to have that happen, there’s not many words to describe it. It’s so special.

“Every organization is great, but to know that Liam is already with Pittsburgh, I was a little bit hoping that I wouldn’t go until they picked.”

Liam was a part of Friday night’s first round. Markus was the seventh pick to start proceedings Saturday morning, so the 18 year olds and their family had time to ponder the possibilities.

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The Penguins had called the brothers a couple of days before the draft to ask each of them a few questions, and they were the lone team that did that, according to Markus. And Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas told reporters after Friday’s first round that picking Markus “would make sense if that’s the way the board falls tomorrow.”

Markus (21-87-108) and Liam (45-59-104) were the top two scorers in the WHL this past season, playing for former Canucks coach Willie Desjardins with the Tigers. They’re slated to return to Medicine Hat this coming fall and they’ve committed to play at the University of North Dakota in 2027-28.

Elite Prospects meshes together various mock draft and polls for a consolidated ranking, and that had Liam at No. 28 and Markus at No. 40.

The twins played at Penticton’s Okanagan Hockey Academy (OHA) in the Canadian Sports School Hockey League before moving onto Medicine Hat. Their linemate for much of that stint was Mathis Preston, a Penticton native now with the Vancouver Giants.

Preston, 17, was getting buzz before the draft as a possible selection by the Canucks at either No. 24 or No. 33. He wound up going No. 50 to the Anaheim Ducks.

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Elite Prospects’ consolidated ranking for Preston was No. 27.

He had a peculiar draft year. He was traded by the Spokane Chiefs to the Giants at January deadline. That’s unusual for someone ranked so high. He scored the overtime winner in his first game with Vancouver and then took a knee-on-knee hit on the second shift of his second game, leading to him missing eight weeks of action.

He played 46 games and, with his skating and shot, you can argue that his skill set is much better his stats (18-26-44) were this season. He’s slated to return to Vancouver this fall.

“I’m super pumped to be in an organization that fits my style of play,” Preston told reporters of being drafted by the Ducks, who are known pushing the pace offensively.

Defenceman Ryan Lin, who was a teammate of Preston’s last season with the Giants, is now a California rival of sorts, after being picked No. 21 by the San Jose Sharks.

There were pundits who expected Lin to go earlier as well — his consolidated ranking with Elite Prospects was No. 13 — but hockey folk were raving afterwards about San Jose’s first round, with Lin joined by them picking Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg at No. 2 and North Dakota defenceman Keaton Verhoeff at No. 9.

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Lin, 18, broke his wrist in a game with Vancouver the day after Preston was hurt, and the Giants’ season took a tumble after that. He was Vancouver’s leading scorer (14-43-57) despite playing just 53 games.

The Richmond product is set to join the University of Denver this coming season.

The Sharks dealt three picks to the Philadelphia Flyers — No. 27, No. 62, No. 120 — to land the selection they used to nab Lin.

“For them to trade up and get me feels great. I want to prove them right,” Lin said.

Lin is a product of the Delta Hockey Academy. Verhoeff, 18, is from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., but he was a part of the CSSHL’s B.C. program contingent, too, playing two seasons with Rink Academy Kelowna before moving on to the WHL’s Victoria Royals and then North Dakota.

Verhoeff’s teammates with Rink included forward Joe Iginla, 17. Like Preston, Iginla was dealt to the Giants at the January trade deadline this season, coming over from the Edmonton Oil Kings.

The Lake Country native was picked in the third round (No. 65 overall) Saturday by the Calgary Flames. He’s not ducking the fact that’s causing a ruckus in some circles. He’s the son of Jarome Iginla, who played 16 years with the Flames and still holds a plethora of team records.

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“Obviously, haters are always going to say something and people will say something about my dad,” Joe told the Calgary Sun. “I feel like at this point in my career, I’ve heard every insult and chirp there is about my dad. I’m just going to go out there and try to prove them wrong.”

The younger Iginla got into 59 games last season with Edmonton and Vancouver, but played a portion of the campaign with a rib injury, and that undoubtedly curtailed his production (15-16-31).

He didn’t have a spot on Elite Prospects’ consolidated ranking. He was the No. 200 ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting.

Jarome is a special adviser to Calgary GM Craig Conroy, who was his longtime Flames line mate. Conroy balked at the idea that Jarome had sway with the pick.

“Jarome wasn’t even involved in any of it,” Conroy told the Calgary Sun. “Any time we even talked about Joe, he got off the line or he you know, he didn’t want to be a part of it. If we took Joe, it was because Joe earned it and that’s the way we felt.”

SEwen@postmedia.com

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