Photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh Penguins Twins Markus, left, and Liam Ruck, right, pose with Pierce Mbuyi after being drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins this weekend at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Born eight minutes earlier than his twin brother, Liam, Marcus Ruck is fine with ceding NHL draft bragging rights.

All that mattered to Ruck on Saturday was being selected with the 39th pick in the second round by Pittsburgh in following his brother, who was drafted 22nd overall by the Penguins a day earlier.

“He can brag to me all he wants. I’m just so happy to be with him. I know he won’t brag, but if he wanted to, he could,” Ruck said. “To be with him, it’s so special.”

The twins are from Osoyoos, British Columbia, and spent the past two-plus seasons as one of the Western Hockey League’s most productive tandems in Medicine Hat. Marcus led the WHL with 108 points last season, while Liam, a right wing, finished second with 104 points.

Liam was projected to go first, and when the Penguins chose him, Markus began looking ahead to No. 39, Pittsburgh’s next turn to pick.

“I didn’t have a preference of when, I just knew where I wanted to go and who I wanted be with,” he said, noting his brother kept his spirits up overnight. “He kept me calm and told me it was going to happen. So for it to happen, it’s awesome.”

The NHL said this marked the fifth time twin brothers were selected by the same team in the draft, in a group that includes Hall of Famers Daniel and Henrik Sedin going second and third to Vancouver in 1999.

After the family reunion, Pittsburgh had more business to deal with and at pick 54 the Penguins took a swing on undersized left-handed defenseman Tomas Galvas who was draft eligible for the third time.

The 20-year-old defender has played in the top men’s league in Czechia for three years now, but this season was his best and scouts were able to overlook his 5-foot-10 frame at 168 pounds. Galvas has shined for the Czech national team at the World Junior Championships for three seasons now and this year as he earned his third medal and a spot on the tournament’s all-star team with 3 goals and 6 assists in 7 games.

Pittsburgh continued the theme with high upside and undersized in the third round as is snagged Owen Sound forward Pierce Mbuyi who scored 32 goals and 43 assists for 75 points in 68 Ontario Hockey League games. The 5-foot-11 and 163-pound forward dropped to the 86th pick in the draft as scouts struggled to correlate his current offensive production to working in the NHL.

Mbuyi does not have one trait that stands out, but he is a diligent forechecker that thinks the game the right way. If he continues building strength to his slight frame there is a chance he could carve out an NHL role for himself as a depth scorer.

Then in the fourth round the Penguins grabbed Barrie Colts right-handed defender Parker Von Richter, another player entering his third draft at 20, but is more of a longshot to make the NHL than Galvas who was overlooked just because of his size.

Dubas capped off adding to the Pittsburgh family with a Belarussian goaltender in Matvei Nikonovich to find his way through the pipeline just like Sergei Murashov. Nikonovich was the 160th pick out of Lada Togliatta in the MHL, providing an impressive .939 save percentage and 1.96 goals against average in 38 games. Nikonovich has the same frame as Murashov at 6-foot-2, but better numbers than the Penguins current future in between the pipes.

The Rucks were part of a family theme in a draft that had Caleb Malhotra going third to Vancouver, where his dad was just hired as the Canucks head coach.

The Calgary Flames opened the third round by selecting WHL Vancouver forward Joe Iginla. He’s the youngest son of Hall of Famer and longtime Flames star Jarome Iginla, and his selection came after older brother Tij went No. 6 to Utah in the 2024 draft.

Sabres add to pipeline

Going from the poorhouse to a contender in a season’s time, Buffalo worried little about its picks on the second day of the draft for the first time in a while.

Buffalo picked just five times in the draft it hosted, adding three long shots to the pipeline on Saturday with center Olivers Murnieks at No. 124, Hungarian forward Doman Kristof Szongoth at No. 156 and forward Dylan Dumont at No. 188.

Murnieks is the best shot at making the top roster someday as Buffalo grabbed a prospect many thought at the beginning of the year would be a first-round pick. Going from the USHL to the QMJHL he had an underwhelming season with the Saint John Sea Dogs instead of picking up production as expected.

However, there were flashes of that top prospect when Murnieks competed with Latvia during international competition, playing in the U18, U20 and men’s World Championship. If the Sabres can get the best out of him they will have another solid bottom-six center in the pipeline that is great defensively and willing to block shots or get in the dirty areas.

Szongoth is a big long shot to make the NHL or ever have an impact in the AHL as shown in his underwhelming season in the Finnish junior league.

Dumont is an intriguing pick at No. 188 after an impressive rookie season in the QMJHL with Drummondville, scoring 28 goals and 16 assists for 44 points in 62 games. An increase in his ice time and responsibility for the Voltigeurs could see a jump in that production, giving Buffalo another scoring winger in the cupboard to wait on.

Rogowski picks hockey over baseball

Whatever doubts Brooks Rogowski had in choosing hockey over baseball quickly evaporated following the first pick in the second round.

The 18-year-old from Livonia, Michigan, had taken his seat with his family on the draft floor, when NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly announced Rogowski being selected at No. 33 by Vancouver.

“The relief was immediate. You hear your name called and all the stresses just kind of fall off you,” Rogowski said.

And the selection validates the choice the 6-foot-7, 235-pound Rogowski made two years ago. In picking hockey, after being drafted by the OHL Oshawa Generals, he put baseball behind him — and to the regret of his father and uncle, who both enjoyed minor-league baseball careers.

His father, Casey, was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and his uncle, Ryan, drafted by the Dodgers.

“Obviously they’re still sad about baseball, but I think this was the right decision,” Rogowski said. “You know, get to wear a nice jersey, so I think that they’re more than happy with that.”

Rogowski is committed to play at Michigan State in two years, and appreciates he still has plenty of room to develop after growing up focusing more on baseball.

“I have a lot more to improve,” he said. “You have a lot of these guys who have been doing this for a long time. I’m still relatively new to it, and I think there’s a lot more to me that needs to come out.”

As a rookie, Rogowski had 11 goals and 23 points in 66 games with Oshawa, and built on that with 42 points (15 goals) in 46 games last season.

Not bad for the former first baseman.

“Exactly. It’s very different,” Rogowski said, comparing the two sports. “I have always been a decent hockey player, but I think the rapid growth, I can attribute to athletic ability.”

A day after pop icon Justin Bieber took the stage to announce the Toronto Maple Leafs taking Penn State forward Gavin McKenna with the No. 1 pick, there were several notable highlights over the final six rounds on Saturday.

Golden Knights 2nd-round pick forfeited

The second round featured just 31 selections with the Vegas Golden Knights forfeiting their 63rd pick after being sanctioned by the league for violating media regulations. Former Vegas coach John Tortorella was also fined $100,000 for refusing to speak to reporters following a second-round-series-clinching Game 6 victory at Anaheim.

At No. 40, the Florida Panthers used their first pick of the draft on right winger Simas Ignatavicius. Though born in Memphis, Tennessee, he relocated with his family to their native Lithuania, a nation that by his count has four hockey rinks.

Though his father played basketball, Ignatavicius was drawn to hockey at age 3 while watching a practice at a rink inside a shopping mall. Six years ago, the 18-year-old moved to Switzerland to develop his skills.

— Doman Szongoth went No. 156 to Buffalo in becoming the fourth Hungarian player selected in the NHL draft, and first since Janos Vas in 2002.

— Six Czech goalies were selected, and led by Tobias Trejbal, who went No. 42 to Calgary.

— Teams completed 20 trades, with the most notable involving St. Louis acquiring defenseman Brandon Carlo from Toronto for picks No. 73 and 76.