The Pittsburgh Penguins captain, Sidney Crosby, welcomed the Ruck twins, Liam and Markus, to the franchise with a special message on video call after their draft selection on Saturday.

The Ruck twins united with the Penguins when they selected older brother Markus as the No. 39 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft on Saturday, June 27. Just a day earlier, they had brought in Liam as the No. 22 pick in the first round of the draft, leaving the identical twins apart for around 16 hours in a rare instance.

“You guys must be pumped," Crosby said to the Ruck twins over a call, the clip of which was shared by the Penguins on X. "I just wanted to call and say hi and welcome, and I’ll see you at main camp.”

Upon hearing about the main camp, Liam and Markus thanked the fellow Canadian, appreciating his taking the time to video-call them personally. They also told him that their family was indeed "pumped" after the draft and their mother was "pretty emotional."

Notably, the Rucks are the highest drafted twins in the NHL since the Vancouver Canucks selected the Sedins, Daniel and Henrik, as No. 2 and No. 3 picks, respectively. While that happened back in the 1999 NHL Draft, the newly drafted Ruck twins have coincidentally idolized the legendary Sedin twins in their young hockey careers.

After selecting Liam yesterday in the draft, Penguins GM Kyle Dubas had his sights set on bringing in Markus to the roster and uniting the Ruck twins. He also alluded to hearing that they had spent just about “four nights apart” in their lives as 18-year-olds.

With Markus available in the second round of the draft on Saturday, when the No. 39 pick for the Penguins came about, Dubas decided to pull the trigger on it.

What has the hockey career of the Ruck twins been like before the Pittsburgh Penguins drafted them together?

The Ruck twins are forwards in a broader sense, but Liam is a natural goal-scoring right winger, while Markus is a center who creates things by shooting left.

The brothers had an incredible 2025-26 season together at Medicine Hat Tigers, to find themselves in the top two of the Western Hockey League (WHL) scoring charts.

Markus finished in first place with 108 points (21G/87A) while Liam was just behind him with 104 points (45G/59A), and both did it in 68 games each for the Tigers.

In the 2026 WHL Playoffs, Markus scored 13 points (4G/9A) in 15 games, while Liam scored 12 points (8G/4A).

The brothers also won a bronze medal for Canada at the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Liam scored three points for two goals and one assist, and Markus scored four assists in five games.

Following their last three seasons for Medicine Hat, the Ruck twins have committed to being back for the 2026-27 season. After that, Liam and Markus are planning to join the University of North Dakota in the fall of 2027.

Will the signing of the Ruck twins turn out to be a great decision for the Pittsburgh Penguins? Tell us your views in the comments.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Yash Kotak