I’ve seen the Ruck brothers ranked all over the place and it seems to me they should be higher. If you were doing a scouting report what would you list as their areas for development?
They both have their own strengths and weaknesses. For Liam it's about engagement away from the puck but it's not like he's on controller disconnect Ovechkin mode. He's still out there hounding pucks it just needs to be more consistent and he's a solid forechecker. For Markus it's about trusting in his own shot more as he's constantly looking for his brother to be the finisher so he passes up some opportunities to set him up.
They could both use some refinement on their skating which seems to be the biggest knock on them but they more than make up for that in their cerebral approach to the game. Getting some more explosiveness in their skating could really help them out and that will come as it is likely a very major area of concern for any team that drafts them. You can refine skating at this level. You can't refine IQ as easily.
I think one of the major red flags teams have with them is no one knows how they will play apart. They feed off of one another so much that they are basically joined at the hip. Getting one without the other is a gamble because you really don't know how they will play away from each other. Getting both is like hitting the lottery because you have a lifetime of chemistry. The twin telepathy comment gets thrown around a lot with them but it's because it's true. It's insane how well they know each others games and complement each other, the chemistry cannot be taught. If you could add a big winger to a line with them that can muck it up in the corners the sky is the limit. But I think between the two of them they can make 2/3rds of a really good line but the 3rd guy might just be a passenger if he can't gel well enough.


