PENGUINS

For months, Liam Ruck had a feeling that the Penguins were eyeing him for their first-round pick in this year's NHL Draft.

Friday night, he found out he was right. They drafted the winger out of the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League with their 22nd overall pick.

"Throughout the year I felt they were the most interested team," Ruck said in a video call from the league event in Buffalo, N.Y. after Pittsburgh selected him. "Seeing them be able to grab me, that's pretty special. It means they wanted me throughout the year, and for them to grab me, it's a special moment for me and my family."

The Penguins have spent the last several drafts prioritizing hockey IQ, competitiveness and skill. In Ruck, they believe they found another player who fits that mold.

Coming off a breakout season with Medicine Hat in which he recorded 45 goals and 59 assists in 68 games, Ruck emerged as one of the WHL's best draft-eligible prospects. But Dubas said it wasn't simply the production that made him the Penguins' choice.

"It's not just the talent," Dubas said. "It's the talent plus just the enthusiasm and the intelligence, and how much he loves playing, and contributing to a contending team and playing well in the playoffs for them. It was a number of different things that made him what we felt was a great fit as a Pittsburgh Penguin. 

Ruck describes himself in much the same way.

"I think I'm a smart 200-foot player, a competitive guy, and has good stick details," he said.

Ruck's offensive breakout came after stepping into a larger role with Medicine Hat this season following Gavin McKenna's departure to move to Penn State. While his shot is pretty lethal, he thinks there was more behind his breakout than just having more time to use that shot.

"I think it is my brain," he said of his strengths. "I think I'm pretty good with getting into those holes to get into a scoring area, and when you're playing with good playmakers, they're going to find you, and I think I found that. I don't think my shot's the most hard yet, but I think it's something I can work on, and once it gets a little harder, I think it'll be even more deadly."

Aside from the offense, Ruck prides himself in his play on the other side of the puck too.

"I just care about winning," he said. "I think if you're a guy that's good in your own zone, it's usually just because you want to win so bad and you don't want to give up a whole lot. And I think I bought into that a lot this year."

The next step, both Ruck and the Penguins agree, is adding strength.

Ruck said he wants to become more explosive through improved skating and a stronger frame. Dubas echoed that assessment, saying physical development will be the biggest priority as Ruck returns to Medicine Hat next season before beginning his college career at North Dakota the following year.

The newest Penguins prospect has shared nearly every step of his hockey journey with his twin brother, Markus, from Medicine Hat to a matching commitment to the University of North Dakota. Markus, another forward, remains available heading into Saturday's second round, where the Penguins own the 39th overall pick.

"We're obviously pretty close, close brothers," Ruck said. "We go through everything together, and I hope his name's called soon, because he deserves it. ... I hope he's taken by the Penguins as well."

Whether the Penguins will be able to reunite the twins hinges on what happens with the six picks ahead of them on Saturday. But if Markus is available, it's almost a certainty that they'll take him.

"We pick 39th tomorrow. We'll see how the board shakes out," Dubas said. "I think that would make sense, if that's the way that the board falls tomorrow."