Less than two months after being drafted by the Penguins in the second round at 39th overall, Markus Ruck cracks the Top 10 of our annual Top 25 Under 25 countdown in his debut on the list.
Catch up on the previous entries for this year:
Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25: Graduates and Departed players in 2025
Top 25 Under 25: The best of the rest
#25: Chase Pietila, D
#24: Ryan Miller, F
#23: Finn Harding, D
#22: Peyton Kettles, D
#21: Zam Plante, F
#21: Brady Peddle, D
#20: Melvin Fernstrom
#19: Tanner Howe
#18: Tomas Galvas
#17: Pierce Mbuyi
#16: Jake Livanavage
#15: Owen Pickering
#14: Tristan Broz
#13: Avery Hayes
#12: Ville Koivunen
#11: Hendrix Lapierre
#10: Markus Ruck, C
2025 Ranking: NR
Age: 18 (February 21, 2008)
Acquired Via: 2026 NHL Draft, 2nd round, 39th overall
Height/Weight: 6-foot, 168 pounds
Twin brother of Penguins first round pick Liam Ruck, it was clear the Penguins were going to be targeting the second Ruck twin in the second round, and made that a reality when they were back on the clock, calling Markus’ name to complete the family duo.
In his second season with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL, Markus posted 108 points in 68 games played, beating out his brother Liam by just four points to lead the league last season. While Liam is more the goal scorer of the two, Markus is the assist man playing center, posting a WHL leading 87 helpers in 2025-26.
Per The Hockey News:
The playmaking half of the dynamic Ruck twins, Markus Ruck, has cemented himself as one of the elite offensive facilitators available in the 2026 NHL Draft. The 18-year-old center authored a historic sophomore campaign with the Medicine Hat Tigers, capturing the Bob Clarke Trophy as the WHL’s Top Scorer with a league-leading 108 points.
Serving as the primary distributor, he racked up an incredible 87 assists in just 68 games, helping power the highest-scoring offense in the WHL. Like his brother Liam, Markus carries a strong championship pedigree, having helped the Tigers capture a WHL Championship in 2025, alongside earning a gold medal at the U17 World Challenge and a bronze at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup with Team Canada.
What makes Ruck such an enticing prospect is his incredibly high hockey IQ and elite passing vision. He plays a highly tactical, give-and-go fueled game, utilizing exceptional timing to slow down the play and manipulate defensive structures.
In transition, Ruck uses strong edge work and anticipatory scanning to push the pace of the play, ensuring the puck rarely stays on his stick for long before he initiates an intricate passing sequence. His off-puck movement is just as vital to his success, as he constantly navigates the offensive zone to find open ice and make himself available for return feeds.
Prior to being drafted by the Penguins in June, Ruck announced his intentions to further his development at the collegiate level by attending the University of North Dakota beginning with the 2027-28 season. In the meantime, Ruck will return to Medicine Hat for the 2026-27 campaign, where he will look to build on his historic success from a season ago.
Just a few days after being drafted, Ruck was in Pittsburgh where he attended prospect development camp with his brother and other fellow draft picks. Early on in development camp, Markus was separated from his brother Liam, something very out of the ordinary for the twins who have been basically attached to one another since birth. This gave Markus a different look on the ice, playing with new faces around him that didn’t carry the same familiarity as he was used to with his brother.
Although Markus led the WHL in scoring this season, throughout the draft process it was Liam who was consistently rated as the better prospect of the two. That was confirmed when the Penguins went with Liam in the first round before grabbing Markus in the second. Liam’s pure goal scoring ability seems to be what gave him the leg up in the process, but the Penguins are just as happy to have Markus in the fold and carry high hopes for him as his development continues over the next few seasons.
One of the major knocks on Markus from prospect evaluators was his skating ability, which they point out will have to improve as his development goes along for him to make his way to the NHL. Another area of improvement will be with his shot, where he falls behind his brother but his playmaking ability does a lot to mask his lack of goal scoring prowess.
Per Scott Wheeler:
He doesn’t take shifts off, works and has a great sixth sense in possession of where everyone is on the ice, opening up his vision and putting pucks into good spots for his teammates. And while he plays passer with Liam, he has a quick release himself when he uses it. The combination of his size (he’s the lighter of the two) and his skating (which has been an area of focus and is below average without being slow for me) has made some wonder if the production will translate, but the work ethic and IQ give him a real chance.
All in all, Markus is another nice piece to be added to the Penguins prospect pool, a pool that Kyle Dubas and his staff have been diligently working to refill since joining the Penguins. When it comes to discussing Markus, it’s almost impossible to do so without mentioning his brother and vice versa.
Liam will appear a bit higher on this list, reflecting how they were viewed during the draft process, but overall, Markus is a high-skilled playmaker who has room to improve as his development continues in the WHL and then eventually the NCAA. It will be a few years before we even discuss Markus playing at the NHL level, but in the meantime, his development will be one to watch for the future.