Sure, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have pretty great chemistry, but there may not be two Penguins with better interplay than Pittsburgh’s two latest draft picks.
After selecting winger Liam Ruck 22nd overall in the first round of the NHL Draft on Friday, the Penguins doubled up on Ruck boys, drafting twin brother Markus 39th overall in the second round on Saturday.
Markus, who played alongside Liam with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL, worked more as a playmaker for his brother in major junior, finishing the 2025-26 season with 21 goals and 87 assists. Liam, on the other hand, finished with 45 goals and 59 assists in the regular season.
Markus led the WHL in scoring this season, while Liam was second.
The brothers told NHL teams they hoped to end up on the same team in the draft during interviews.
“I think at the combine they said they’d spent four nights apart total in their whole lives. So, I think that would make sense, if that’s the way that the board falls tomorrow,” Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas told reporters when asked if the team could select Markus on Saturday.
The brothers from Osoyoos, B.C., have long idolized the Sedin twins, who, of course, were selected by the Vancouver Canucks with the second and third picks, respectively, in the 1999 NHL Draft.
Tigers coach Willie Dejsardins has a connection to both sets of twins as he also coached the Canucks during his time as Vancouver’s bench boss.
The Tigers selected Liam ninth overall and Markus 21st in the 2023 WHL Draft.