They learned to skate together, they were drafted by the Medicine Hat Tigers together, and now identical twins Markus and Liam Ruck are wearing the Maple Leaf together at the Youth Olympics
Markus and Liam Ruck are twins through and through. Born eight minutes apart
on Feb. 21, 2008, the brothers have been inseparable on and off the ice ever
since.
From playing minor hockey in the small town of Osoyoos, B.C., to rising
through the ranks in the South Okanagan Minor Hockey Association, to being
drafted by the Medicine Hat Tigers in the first round of the 2023 Western
Hockey League (WHL) Prospects Draft, Markus and Liam have been by each
other’s side, stride by stride.
The Rucks are what the medical community categorizes as mirror identical
twins, which is when a pair twins possess opposite traits that mirror each
other. Markus is a playmaking left-handed centre, while Liam is the
goal-scoring right-handed winger. By definition, they complement each other
perfectly.
“We do everything together, on and off the ice,” Liam says. “We’re
competitive off the ice, always trying to beat each other, and on the ice,
we push each other, want to make each other better, and make our jobs easier
out there.”
“It’s been really special to have us together,” Markus adds. “It’s always a
little bit easier to have my twin with me throughout my whole life.”
Now, the brothers are making their international debuts together at the
2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games
in Gangwon, South Korea.
“We’re going to go out there and show what we can do on the international
stage, as a team and as individuals and play the way we play,” says Liam.
“We’re looking forward to putting our names out there, wearing that Canadian
jersey,” Markus adds. “The goal is to find success with the team and come
back with the gold.”
A family affair
Markus and Liam first hit the ice when they were two years old on the
family’s backyard rink and then at public skates. By the time they were
four, they were already making plays to each other in games. With hockey
smarts to back their chemistry, their skills were quickly noticed in their
hometown.
“They loved the game from a very young age,” says Jim Liebel, the twins’
coach from ages four to 12. “They were committed to hockey, from shooting in
their living room to showing up to the rink. They were soft spoken, but you
could tell they really wanted to be hockey players back then. The plays they
made, they just knew where the other brother would be, and that connection
was just so special to see.”
Their connection has been evident for as long as they’ve been lacing up
their skates. In 2018, the pair were members of the B.C. Junior Canucks at
The Brick Invitational in Edmonton. Liam finished with a team-leading seven
goals and co-led with 10 points. Markus had four points, including two
assists, both of which came on goals scored by Liam.
Skating with the U15 Prep team at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton,
B.C., last season, Liam led the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL)
with 90 points (53-37—90) in 27 games, just ahead of Markus and his 87
points (22-65—87). So it was no surprise when Liam was selected ninth
overall in the WHL draft by the Medicine Hat Tigers, 12 spots before the
Tigers traded up to select Markus.
“We love playing together,” Markus says. “We love our give-and go-plays, our
passes in between sticks and feet to create those two-on-one opportunities
on the ice against the defenders, but the small community here [in Osoyoos]
gives us lots of ice time and that support is always there.”
“We support each other a lot out there,” Liam adds. “Markus makes my job as
a goal scorer a lot easier when he sets me up, so we definitely get a lot of
good chances out there together. Our parents spend countless hours
supporting us as well, and the all-around support from them and the
community, it makes our lives easier to focus on hockey.”
It’s not only on the ice where the family connection is strong. Away from
the rink, hockey has become an activity that has brought the Ruck family
together on numerous occasions.
From the competitive mini-stick battles with their younger brother Landon,
to family vacations scheduled around hockey, the sport has brought the whole
family together. It’s something that the brothers’ parents, Nina and Derek,
are thankful for.
“We’ve got to go all over Canada and the United States as a family,” Nina
says. “We’ve had so many great memories with hockey and people sometimes ask
if we even do family vacations, and I tell them ‘Of course,’ whether it’s to
The Brick tournament or to Montreal for Meltdown, its some of the best
memories of our lives so far together.”
The Youth Olympics will be a proud moment for family and friends, who will
be cheering them on from Osoyoos.
“Kids in Osoyoos look up to them as leaders,” Liebel says, thinking about
how emotional it will be to see the twins take the ice in Gangwon. “It’s a
small town here and the kids see what Markus and Liam are doing on the ice
and their level of commitment to hockey; they are the perfect types of
people for kids in the community to look up to.”
International success runs in the family
When Markus and Liam hit the ice for Canada’s preliminary-round opener
against the host Koreans on Jan. 27, it won’t be the first time a member of
the Ruck family competes with the Maple Leaf on their chest. Their father
played three years in the WHL with the Lethbridge Hurricanes (1998-2001)
before winning the Allan Cup in 2007 as a member of the Powell River Regals,
a year before the twins were born. The Regals were invited to represent
Canada’s National Men’s Team
at the Belarus Cup and Derek skated in three games for Canada.
And then there’s their second cousin,
Taylor Ruck. She is a four-time Olympic medallist (a silver and three bronze) in the
swimming pool, representing Canada at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Games, and
tied a Commonwealth Games record with eight medals (one gold, five silver,
two bronze) at the 2018 Games in Australia.
With all that success in the family, the twins hope to continue to represent
the Ruck name with pride on the international stage.
“We’ve both dreamed of putting on that jersey,” Liam says. “A lot of
Canadian kids have that dream, and to have the opportunity to do that is
really exciting for us and the family.”
“Ever since watching the World Juniors and the Olympics, we always dreamed
to be in their positions and in their shoes,” Markus adds. “We have the
opportunity now, it’s going to be unbelievable.”
