Penguins select Liam Ruck No. 22 overall in 2026 NHL Draft

The Pittsburgh Penguins have selected right winger Liam Ruck with the No. 22 overall selection of the 2026 NHL Draft.

Ruck was projected to be selected around 28th or 29th overall on average across all of the main draft rankings, going as high as 10th and as low as 50th. He was also ranked 20th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis projected him to go in the higher end at 16th overall.

Ellis had this to say about Ruck in his most recent draft rankings:

“Medicine Hat lost a lot of offense with the departures of Gavin McKenna and Cayden Lindstrom, among others, but Ruck made up for it. He loves to shoot from anywhere and does an excellent job of getting the puck where it needs to be. He led all draft eligibles with 45 goals, and that’s good for seventh in the country. Ruck is extremely dangerous around the net with a variety of quality shot choices at his disposal. His chemistry with his twin, Markus, was obvious from the get-go. It feels like it’s going to be difficult to select both together without some funky trade magic – that’s the downside of their incredible second-half play.“

Ruck spent the entirety of his 2025-26 season with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League. He played all 68 games of the regular season, accumulating 45 goals and 59 assists for 104 points, as the Tigers finished second in the Eastern Conference with a 50-10-5-3 record. The Osoyoos, British Columbia product was second in the WHL in scoring behind twin brother Markus Ruck, also a member of Medicine Hat. Additionally, Liam tied for second in goals behind Dallas Stars 2025 third-round pick Cameron Schmidt and was fifth in assists.

Ruck also had eight goals and four assists for 12 points in 14 playoff games for the Tigers. He was tied for sixth in the playoffs in goals and tied for first on his team with fellow 2026 draft-eligible defenseman Jonas Woo, and was fifth on the team in points. Medicine Hat started off their playoffs strong, losing just once in their first two series before falling in six games in the Eastern Conference Final to the Prince Albert Raiders.

While the Tigers did not win this season, they did win the Ed Chynoweth Cup in the 2024-25 season with Ruck on their roster.