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.
On the agenda today is the second Ruck twin in our rankings, Liam Ruck. Ruck was an offensive weapon in the WHL this season, being second in scoring behind only his brother.
Who is Liam Ruck?
| Player | Position | Shoots | Height | Weight | Nationality | Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liam Ruck | Right Wing | Right | 6’0″ | 176lbs | Canada | TWC Rank #32 / CS NA Rank #20 |
Growing up in the Okanagan region of British Columbia and being good at hockey likely means you played for the Okanagan prep team in your youth. Ruck is no exception, as that was the system he developed with before entering the WHL. With some tremendous youth seasons under his belt, Ruck was drafted 9th overall by the Medicine Hat Tigers in the 2023 WHL draft.
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 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 2.44 |
| 2021-22 | D-4 | CSSHL U15 | Okanagan HA U15 Prep | 29 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 1.17 |
| 2022-23 | D-3 | CSSHL U15 | Okanagan HA U15 Prep | 27 | 53 | 37 | 90 | 3.33 |
| 2023–24 | D-2 | CSSHL U15 | Okanagan HA U18 Prep | 22 | 25 | 28 | 53 | 2.41 |
| WHL | Medicine Hat Tigers | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.67 | ||
| 2024-25 | D-1 | WHL | Medicine Hat Tigers | 61 | 25 | 16 | 41 | 0.67 |
| 2025-26 | D+0 | WHL | Medicine Hat Tigers | 68 | 45 | 59 | 104 | 1.53 |
Across three games in 2023–24, Ruck potted his first WHL goal and assist. In his rookie season, Ruck would enter a situation all rookies wish for. A spot on the best team in the league. Ruck served a pretty sizeable role even on a deep Tigers team. He provided great secondary goal-scoring as he produced 25 goals, adding 16 assists for 41 points in 61 games. Although Ruck did not receive a nomination for rookie of the year, he claimed an even better prize. That prize was the Ed Chynoweth Cup, as the Tigers were crowned WHL champions.
With a big sophomore year ahead and a draft ranking that he needed to prove himself for, Ruck exploded in his production. Finding the back of the net 20 more times and adding 43 more assists, Ruck finished with 45 goals and 104 points in 68 games. The Tigers would not be able to defend their championship since the Prince Albert Raiders eliminated them in six games in the semi-finals. Ruck received a nomination for WHL player of the year, but lost out to his teammate, Bryce Pickford.
Ruck’s strength
Goal-scoring ability
Most likely, if you ask someone about the strength of Ruck’s skillset, their answer will be his ability to find the back of the net. To begin, Ruck has a pretty nice wrist shot in his arsenal. Like many top goal scorers, Ruck has a wrist shot that brings accuracy and speed, causing goalies to have a difficult time stopping it. Ruck has also flashed capabilities on his backhand and one-timer. Even away from the shot itself, Ruck does a solid job at finding space to use his shot effectively. When there are openings in the defence, Ruck can spot them and creep into position, allowing for a crisp pass to come his way. He is also pretty decent at getting into high-danger positions, such as the high slot.
Offensive sense
Overall, Ruck displays a strong sense for the offensive side of the puck. For any aspect of offence, Ruck shows a good understanding of how to approach it and make an impact. As just mentioned, Ruck is great at spotting space off puck. It allows his offensive game to add another layer of threat. If he’s the puck carrier, Ruck can make some pretty slick moves to get into space and leave defenders confused. Ruck also doesn’t have too many issues with dishing the puck instead of receiving. He knows how to position himself and the puck to give his teammate an efficient tape-to-tape pass, and he creates a bit of a dual-threat.
Ruck’s areas of improvement
Playdriving
As someone who is typically touted as the better part of the duo, Ruck is too much of a passenger. He definitely has his moments where he’s guiding the offensive pressure, but most times, he’s the guy waiting for someone else to do the work. If there’s a battle in the corner, Ruck is waiting for the puck to come out of the scrum. He doesn’t have an incredible hustle on him either. To me, Ruck is the guy that the puck carrier is trying to create space for, instead of Ruck trying to create space himself. Usually, he’s not scoring by controlling the cycle; he’s scoring because he’s getting into a good position for someone else to find him in. It’s a fine role to serve, but it limits his ceiling a bit to me.
Physicality
It shouldn’t be too surprising that the smallish winger whose role is offence doesn’t handle physicality the best. As I alluded to in the last point, Ruck isn’t too willing to engage in physical play. He watches as other players battle, and he’s not really the type of guy to try to fight for a tip. There are moments where he gets outmuscled, and he’s stripped of the puck too easily. Defensively, he doesn’t put in the best effort to clear pucks, as he shies away from the possible physical play that comes with it.
Fit with the Flames
| Organizational need addressed | Right shot forward |
| Realistic pick range | 16–24 |
| NHL timeline | 3-4 seasons |
| Fit verdict | Maybe fit |
As mentioned in my Markus Ruck piece, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Rucks were Flames come draft day. The range for Liam Ruck is decently hard to predict. He’s risen in rankings over the past couple of months to a possible lottery selection. Before that, he was projected as a late first, early second. That’s why I placed his pick range right in the middle at 16–24. However, it would not surprise me if he dropped a few spots out of it. With the Vegas Golden Knights advancing to the Stanley Cup finals, the Flames no longer have a pick in the projected range. Nonetheless, they have lots of draft picks, and if they like Ruck, they could trade up for him.
For a positional fit, the Flames and Ruck aren’t really a match outside of Ruck being a right-shot winger. The Flames have many, many wingers in the pipeline; however, a majority of them shoot left. Adding another winger who shoots right certainly wouldn’t hurt with a later pick. As I’ve said before, my gripe with the Ruck brothers is: how much are you buying into the twin gimmick? You need to leave two spots open in your lineup for them in the future, and the Flames have a very deep prospect pool already. The Rucks are solid players, but I wonder how much they need each other and if it’s truly worth it.
Summary
Liam Ruck is a winger who has found success on the offensive side of the puck thanks to his goal-scoring ability and offensive sense. He brings a quick and accurate wrist shot and a good understanding of how to get into space and generate offensive chances. The lack of play-driving is a bit concerning, and he struggles with the physical side of the game. His offensive skills do make him a pretty decent bet to carve out a middle-six role, even away from his brother if that is the situation he ends up in. However, I do wonder if he’s too much of a complementary player to be anything better.
Risk: 2/5
Reward: 3.5/5
Projection: Middle-six, goal-scoring winger