Penguins draft Ruck twins on back-to-back picks
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- Pittsburgh Penguins selected Liam Ruck 22nd overall on Friday and his twin brother Marcus with the 39th pick in Saturday's second round, reuniting the Medicine Hat linemates from Osoyoos, British Columbia, on the same organization.
- Marcus Ruck led the entire WHL with 108 points last season while twin Liam Ruck finished second with 104 points, both suiting up for Medicine Hat.
- Vancouver Canucks used the 33rd pick on 18-year-old Brooks Rogowski of Livonia, Michigan, validating his decision two years ago to choose hockey over baseball — a sport his father Casey played in the Chicago White Sox system and his uncle Ryan in the Dodgers' organization.
- Calgary Flames opened the third round by taking Joe Iginla, youngest son of Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla, one year after older brother Tij went No. 6 to Utah in 2024.
- Vegas Golden Knights forfeited their 63rd pick after being sanctioned for violating media regulations, with former coach John Tortorella separately fined $100,000 for refusing postgame media availability.
- Caleb Malhotra went third overall to Vancouver, where his father had just been hired as Canucks head coach — part of a family theme that ran through Day 2 of the draft.
- Florida Panthers used their first pick (No. 40) on right winger Simas Ignatavicius, a Memphis-born Lithuanian who moved to Switzerland at age 12 to develop his skills in a country he counts as having just four hockey rinks.
Why it matters: The Penguins used first- and second-round picks on the Ruck twins, keeping the WHL's top two scorers (212 combined points in Medicine Hat) together on one roster. Three of the first 40 selections went to sons of former NHL figures, including Caleb Malhotra, whose father was just hired as Vancouver's head coach — making family ties a defining thread of the draft's second day.
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