It’s that time of the year for The Win Column’s NHL Draft Rankings and Draft Profiles! Earlier on, we released the TWC consolidated 2026 NHL Draft rankings. The 2026 NHL Draft will take place on June 26 and 27 in Buffalo.
Today, we will be looking at the first of the Ruck twins on our list, Markus Ruck. Alongside his brother, Ruck led the WHL in scoring and soared up the rankings of the upcoming draft.
Who is Markus Ruck?
| Player | Position | Shoots | Height | Weight | Nationality | Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Markus Ruck | Centre / Left Wing | Left | 6’0″ | 168lbs | Canada | TWC #30 / CS NA Rank #23 |
Like many players from South Central British Columbia, Ruck developed with the Okanagan prep team. Throughout his youth, Ruck was putting up great numbers, which led to him being a top prospect for the 2023 WHL draft. He would get drafted by the Medicine Hat Tigers with the 21st overall pick in the first round.
Ruck’s on-ice production
| Year | Draft Rel. | League | Team | GP | G | A | P | P/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | D-5 | CSSHL U15 AAA | Okanagan HA U15 Varsity | 9 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 2.11 |
| 2021-22 | D-4 | CSSHL U15 | Okanagan HA U15 Prep | 30 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 1.07 |
| 2022-23 | D-3 | CSSHL U15 | Okanagan HA U15 Prep | 27 | 22 | 65 | 87 | 3.22 |
| 2023–24 | D-2 | CSSHL U18 | Okanagan HA U18 Prep | 25 | 18 | 44 | 62 | 2.48 |
| WHL | Medicine Hat Tigers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
| 2024–25 | D-1 | WHL | Medicine Hat Tigers | 62 | 8 | 21 | 29 | 0.47 |
| 2025-26 | D+0 | WHL | Medicine Hat Tigers | 68 | 21 | 87 | 108 | 1.59 |
After a 2-game stint in 2023–24, Ruck made the full-time jump to the WHL in the 2024–25 season. On an incredibly deep Tigers team, Ruck didn’t get a role too high in the lineup. Due to this, his rookie season numbers weren’t anything too eye-catching. In 62 games, he produced eight goals and 29 points, good for 10th on the team. With how good the Tigers were, Ruck would end his rookie campaign as a WHL champion.
The Tigers were poised to lose many of their top producers for this past season. This left Ruck with big shoes to fill and a chance to prove himself during his draft season. And he filled those shoes perfectly for the Tigers. Ruck’s point totals increased by 79 points! Up to 21 goals and 108 points in 68 games. Ruck not only led his team in points, but the entire WHL as well. Thanks to his performance and a few other big pieces, the Tigers were positioned as one of the WHL’s best teams once again. However, this year didn’t go as well as the previous. The Tigers made it to the conference final, but went down in six games to the Prince Albert Raiders.
Ruck’s strengths
Passing
Without a doubt, the best part of Ruck’s game is his playmaking ability. Ruck is always looking for a passing lane to send the puck over to his teammate, whether it be simple or difficult. Engaging in give-and-goes, easy tape-to-tape passes, or fighting through traffic, Ruck does a great job of using his vision to address the situation and put the puck on his teammate’s stick. There are moments where Ruck is continuously dishing out high-danger passes and upping the pressure for his team. The playmaking skill is also valuable on the cycle, as he can position himself in any spot with no drop in the quality of his passing.
Compete
Another strength of Ruck’s game would be his compete level. Despite a smaller frame, Ruck doesn’t shy away from the dirtier areas of the ice. He’ll engage puck battles, fight for position, get into scrums, and place himself net-front. It certainly helps in the offensive end, but it also helps him curve out a defensive game. Ruck doesn’t shy away from a defensive assignment and puts in a solid effort. He gets into lanes and uses his stick to attempt to break up plays. It makes his transition game pretty decent, too. Ruck will make successful exits or start the breakout with a good pass.
Ruck’s areas of improvement
Skating
When it comes to the skating ability of Ruck, it feels pretty mediocre. He doesn’t have a blazing top-end speed, super dynamic edgework, or any real explosiveness to his stride. Ruck just kind of skates with a decent speed that’s pretty straight line in it’s mobility. It’s a respectable pace and probably won’t bite him too much, but it limits the deceptiveness in his game. His frame not being the biggest doesn’t necessarily help him here either, as lighter players tend to rely on great skating to raise their ceiling.
Shot
The shot of Ruck feels pretty lacking, which isn’t too surprising when he’s the passer in a pair of twins. However, it causes his offensive game to be a little one-dimensional. Like his skating, Ruck’s shot isn’t horrendous, but it just doesn’t really have any threat to it. Sure, he can take a nice shot once in a while, but its quality is not consistent. It sort of has this effect where a goalie may not challenge him as much, as the shot will be weak or Ruck will opt for the passing option. If Ruck wants to be able to be an impact piece away from the duo of him and his brother, developing a better shot would help out quite a bit.
Fit with the Flames
| Organizational need addressed | Centre prospect |
| Realistic pick range | 24-40 |
| NHL timeline | 3-4 seasons |
| Fit verdict | Maybe fit |
If the NHL draft ends with Ruck being a Flame, it wouldn’t really shock me. Ruck could really go anywhere from 24th to 40th, maybe even earlier or later. He’d be another centre prospect in their cupboard, although I do think Ruck projects more on the wing. The Flames have plenty of picks in the range for Ruck, with 28th, 35th, and 36th.
My only gripe with selecting Ruck is that you are likely selecting his brother, Liam, as well. Then it creates the issue where you need to leave two spots open for the two to play together. With a prospect pool that’s already so deep, I don’t know if that’s the best option for the Flames. The Rucks are solid players, but I feel like selecting them kind of has the hanging idea of buying into a gimmick.
Summary
Markus Ruck is a playmaking centre prospect that brings a solid level of compete to his game. He’s a reliable option to make a good pass in the offensive zone and help continue the cycle with his vision. Off-puck, he puts in a decent effort to engage in battles and position himself properly at both ends of the ice. Both his skating and shot being pretty mediocre worries me a bit. It makes me question just how dynamic his game can really be and how high the ceiling is. However, the playmaking and compete do give him an honest chance at being a middle-six option.
Risk: 2/5
Reward: 3/5
Projection: Pass-first, middle-six forward