The Pittsburgh Penguins made the biggest family play of Day 2 at the 2026 NHL Draft, completing the Ruck twin set Saturday in Buffalo.
After selecting Liam Ruck with the No. 22 pick in the first round on Friday, the Penguins came back at No. 39 overall and took his twin brother, Markus, in the second round. The two forwards starred together with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League, where Markus led the league with 108 points (21 goals, 87 assists) and Liam finished right behind him with 104 (45 goals, 59 assists).
The move enabled Pittsburgh to keep together a pair of brothers who have built their development around playing off each other. Liam is the more goal-oriented winger, while Markus is known as the playmaking half of the duo. The twins are the highest-drafted set of brothers since the Vancouver Canucks took Daniel and Henrik Sedin second and third overall in 1999.
The Calgary Flames added a familiar name later in the day, selecting Joe Iginla with the first pick of the third round, 65th overall. Iginla is the son of Flames legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla, who remains the franchise’s all-time leader in goals, points and games played. Joe split last season between the Edmonton Oil Kings and Vancouver Giants, finishing with 15 goals and 31 points in 59 WHL games.
“Obviously, haters are gonna always say something, and people will say something about your dad, but I feel like at this point in my career I’ve heard about every insult and chirp there is about my dad,” Joe Iginla said, according to Sportsnet. “So I think I’m just gonna go out there and try to prove them wrong.”
San Jose made history in the seventh round by taking defenseman Alexander Karmanov with the No. 201 pick. Karmanov, listed at 7-foot-1 and 272 pounds, became the tallest player selected in the NHL Draft. The 18-year-old is also the first player from Moldova to be drafted.
Day 2’s bloodline theme extended beyond the Rucks and Iginla. Detroit took Victor Plante, the son of former NHL forward Derek Plante, at No. 47. Ottawa selected Adam Nemec, the brother of former No. 2 pick and recently traded defenseman Simon Nemec, at No. 72. Philadelphia took Kent Sauer, whose uncles are former NHL defensemen Kurt and Michael Sauer, in the fifth round.
Montreal added another famous surname in the sixth round with Parker Trottier, the grandson of Hockey Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier. Washington closed out one of the day’s other family links by taking Logan Stuart, the son of longtime NHL defenseman Brad Stuart, in the seventh round.
NHL teams combined to make 20 trades on Saturday, though 16 revolved solely around draft picks.
Of note among the player transactions, the St. Louis Blues acquired forward Brandon Carlo from the Toronto Maple Leafs for two 2026 third-round selections and the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes sent defenseman Kyle Masters and a sixth-round choice to the Anaheim Ducks for the negotiating rights to free-agent defenseman John Carlson.
Carlson, 36, has amassed 112 goals and 396 assists in 785 regular-season games across 17 years.
–Field Level Media
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