Osoyoos’ favourite hockey twins have set the Western Hockey League ablaze in the 2025-26 season, all while maintaining a solid balance between on-ice and off-ice life.
Liam and Markus Ruck are currently playing for the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers, who recently completed a first-round playoff series win against the Regina Pats. The Tigers will face the Calgary Hitmen in the second round of the WHL playoffs.
The Ruck twins have thus far had a season like no other, statistically. They became the first pair of brothers in the history of the Canadian Hockey League, which the WHL is part of, to finish first and second overall in scoring in their league.
Markus also became the first Tiger since alumni and former Vancouver Canuck Linden Vey to lead the WHL in scoring. Most of his points came through the assist category, as he posted a whopping 87 of them in the 68-game WHL season. Liam still got to 59 assists, but paired that tally with a 45-goal campaign.
What is the most impressive, however, is how they have continued to do well with their studies and maintaining personal lives, while also handling the grind of a WHL season. It's not an easy balance for them, and their mother, Nina Ruck, has seen firsthand the amount of work it takes to keep everything running along.
"They leave the house at... probably about 7 in the morning, and they are at the rink until about 1 o'clock," Nina explains. "And then all of the school-age (Tigers players) go to school together, it's a Southern Alberta collegiate school, where basically they're doing their work online with teachers present, so they do have that support system."
Beyond those challenges, there can also be the added pressure of following in the footsteps of young phenom Gavin McKenna, who made the jump to the NCAA this season. This is where another former Canuck has played a key role in assisting the Ruck brothers.
"They did have to (overcome) some mental struggles for sure, and they did reach out to a mental health coach, Aaron Volpatti," Nina says. "(He) helped them with some strategies to cope, and how to push through, grind through wins and losses, and that helped them a lot as well.
"They enjoyed playing with Gavin (last season), and they learned a lot from him, but then yeah, they kind of took on that pressure role."
What helps, above all else, is that they have each other, which Nina said is the biggest factor to boosting them in-season. It's not an opportunity that gets to be enjoyed often in the entire CHL, and Nina describes it as a "dream come true" that they got to be on the same team.
"They're amazing on the ice, but they're also best friends. So for us, because they were going so far, we were very happy that they were going together, so that they'd have each other to lean on as they went through their hockey journey.
"And then obviously they've had much success together, so that's been great."
The Ruck brothers themselves agree.
"We are so lucky and grateful that Medicine Hat was able to get us both together," they said jointly when reached for this story.
"We love playing with one another and have had so much fun with our team this year."
With the guidance of Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins, the Ruck twins continue to excel at both the on-ice performance and the off-ice studies and life moments.
Nina, though, wisely adds one extra key to success in fostering Markus's and Liam's development: Letting them know, as a parent, you're proud of what they've achieved, but then letting them do their thing.
"Extremely proud of them, and we just... we don't praise them too much. We want to keep them as humble as we can – we know there's still a long road ahead, but they just have to enjoy the ride while it's good."
The Ruck twins will continue helping the Tigers seek their second consecutive championship. The twins are feeling confident that the Tigers can go back-to-back, with the team they have.
"We have a great chance at having the same success this year," they said. "We have a very tightly bonded team, and everyone loves playing for each other; it’s special to be a part of such a great team on and off the ice.
"Our team is playing great hockey, and we hope to continue that through the playoffs."
Following the playoffs, attention will turn to the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, being hosted by Buffalo this year. Both Liam and Markus are projected to be early-round selections, with Liam currently ranked 26th by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau and Markus 31st.
For now, though, it's eyes on the prize for the Osoyoos kids.
All WHL playoff games can be seen for free on the Victory+ streaming app.
