When the leading man spot was left vacant for season two of Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, Josh Duhamel subbed in.
In an exclusive chat with E! News, Lauren Graham, who stars as single mom Alex in the Disney+ show and is an executive producer, confirmed she was "blown away" that the Las Vegas alum was eager to join the team.
"I have always been a fan," she shared. "Often when there are changes, it just feels like a struggle to make a choice that feels like it will make the show even more fantastic. And that's what this felt like to me."
Lauren further gushed over Josh being a "perfect" addition, adding, "We're so lucky."
Josh is stepping into the skates previously filled by Emilio Estevez, who appeared in season one of the series, reprising his role of Gordon Bombay from the Mighty Ducks trilogy. While it was initially reported that Emilio's contract for the Disney+ series was not renewed because he wouldn't comply with production's COVID-19 vaccination policy, the Breakfast Club actor slammed the allegation, stating to Deadline that he exited the series over a "contract dispute."
"I take this pandemic very seriously," he added, "and I am often teased about my continued following of the safety protocols and my abundance of caution."
Though Josh's character Gavin Cole, a steely coach at an elite hockey camp, may be reminiscent of Emilio's Coach Bombay, Lauren told E! News to not expect more of the same.
"The nature of this show is that it's kind of a movie broken down," she explained. "So we're not going back to the same sets. You don't have to have the same structure you had."
However, Josh told E! News that you can anticipate some tension between Gavin and Alex. "I wasn't expecting this version of the Mighty Ducks to show up," Josh said of the former Don't Bothers players taking over the Mighty Ducks' jerseys. "It made for some great comedy, especially when they first show up in that beat up old RV eating french fries and cheeseburgers."
According to Josh, this team will eventually teach his character that there "is more to life than hockey."
See the new dynamic play out, as the season two premiere of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers is available on Disney+.