The Pittsburgh Penguins gave Liam Ruck a taste of the big stage Saturday, and the 18-year-old winger didn’t waste the chance.
Ruck was bumped into the first group at training camp at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, skating alongside a unit loaded with NHL talent and headlined by captain Sidney Crosby. For a player who spent the first two days with the prospects group under AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach Kirk McDonald, it was a clear step up - and a memorable one.
“Yeah, that’s the plan. I hope so,” an always-smiling Ruck said.
“Obviously, a lot of great players out there, and it’s a deep roster, but I’m just going to be at my best for whenever the coaching staff and management think I’m ready to go. Whenever that is, hopefully as soon as possible, but I’m just going to keep getting better for that opportunity.”
The Penguins made Ruck a 2026 first-round pick, and the long view around him is obvious. The current plan has him going back to Medicine Hat this season before moving on to the University of North Dakota in 2027-28. But Saturday was less about where he’s headed next and more about what he could absorb in the moment.
“Seeing the same ice time as Sid, it’s pretty special. I was super pumped to get that opportunity, and I think I made the most of it,” Ruck said.
“He does a lot of things right. There’s not a lot of holes in his game.
He’s a pretty complete player. It’s fun seeing what he’s doing out there.
I just try and learn from him as much as I can.”
Crosby, who is 39 and signed through this season, has been flying at camp. Ruck noticed that immediately, and he came away struck by how quickly everything happens when Crosby is on the ice.
“I think it’s even faster when you’re out there with him,” Ruck said. “He’s a quick player, and the way he’s able to make the right reads and at that pace, it’s pretty special.
“All those guys that, they’re good at those little things that go unnoticed. Just seeing that, I know I’ve got to add some of those things to my game. It’s exciting that I get that I get to see that extra part of the game.”
For Ruck, it was also his first practice under an NHL coach, and he said the details stood out right away.
“All the little details,” Ruck said of his main impression. “The players, they reinforce what he says.
It’s a lot of little things that go into it. He breaks the game down really well.
He’s fun to play for.”
Saturday’s skate paired Ruck mostly with Avery Hayes and Hugh McGinn, and even with the size difference apparent - Ruck is listed at 6 feet and 181 pounds - he showed speed and touch against the NHL group.
He learned about the promotion Friday afternoon, and the move came with one more wrinkle: his twin brother, Markus, a second-round pick this year, stayed in the prospect group.
“They just kind of told me to play my game, and I’m there for a reason,” Liam said. “Knowing that, it was easy for me to go out there and play with confidence and know that I deserve to be out there.
I see a lot of great players that I respect out there. It was cool to be out there.”
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