The big news of the first day was that Liam and Markus Ruck started Penguins development camp on different teams.
Pittsburgh landed both of the identical twins over the weekend in Buffalo, taking Liam in the first round (22nd overall) and Markus in the second (39th overall). It was *the* story of this year’s NHL Draft.
They are the best of friends, saying they never argue or fight, and love spending time together. People have been amazed by the fact that the longest the boys have been apart in their 18 years is four days. So, it’s a unique situation from the Penguins perspective, trying to figure out the right development path for each of them.
“It's really neat. It's interesting. I'm learning while getting to know them, but the whole organization is really excited. The way it played out in the draft was really cool to watch,” said Tom Kostopoulos, Penguins Director of Player Development. “But they are different individuals, so I think we also got to talk about them and understand that in camp here, we're trying to separate them a little bit on different teams and stuff, just so they get to know some more of the players and staff and that.”
The twins have been teammates and linemates for most of their lives, with complementary playing styles. Kostopoulos called Markus an “incredible playmaker,” saying he possesses lots of intelligence. He said Liam has a tremendous shot, and does a great job of finding space in the offensive zone to finish plays and score goals. They can’t remember a time when they played against each other.
“But it'll be fun,” Liam said. “It's always fun competing with him, and seeing all the great players here, it's gonna be cool to compete with them out here, too.”
Those who know them best say the boys are better together. The dream is to turn professional together. But as they move forward into this next phase of their hockey careers, the Ruck twins simply may not be on the same timeline.
“So, I think it's for sure important to learn to play apart from each other in case of an injury or we're not on the same team for whatever reason,” Markus said. “I think it's good for us.”
In the meantime, the twins will be checking in with each other whenever they can.
“We want to know what each other are doing if we're not together,” Markus said. “I'm always texting him. He's always texting me. Even on days like this, where we're both at the rink, but we don't see each other a lot, we'll check in on each other if we're doing different things, and see how each other's days went. We got a really good bond, and a special bond.”
