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.

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.

DRAFT NOTES

• Six Czech goalies were selected, and led by Tobias Trejbal, who went No. 42 to Calgary. The Youngstown Phantoms standout was the USHL Goaltender of the Year and the first goalie taken in the draft.

He was one of three Phantoms selected.

Center Jack Hextall was a first-round selection by the Flames, going 30th overall. Hextall played 108 games the past two seasons for the Phantoms and has committed to play for Michigan State.

Forward Evan Jardin went to the Columbus Blue Jackets with the 121st pick. He spent parts of three seasons with the Phantoms and will be a freshman at Ohio State University this fall.

• 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.

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