Can we get a "Quack, Quack" for Josh Duhamel?
On Monday, Jan. 24, Disney+ announced that the Las Vegas alum is joining season two of the sports series as Coach Gavin Cole. According to the character description, Coach Cole is a former NHL star who heads an intense hockey institute, which serves as the new season's setting.
Duhamel will be skating into a position previously held by Emilio Estevez, who reprised his iconic Mighty Ducks movie role of Gordon Bombay for season one. Then back in November, news broke that Estevez would not return for season two.
Initially, it was reported that ABC Signature production studio chose not to renew Estevez's contract because the actor wouldn't confirm that he'd comply with the COVID-19 vaccination policy. Estevez himself shut down the allegation, telling Deadline that he chose not to do season two over a "contract dispute and not, as some would believe an anti-vaccine position."
He further clarified his position by adding, "I am not anti-vaxx. Full stop."
Though Estevez has hung up his skates, Mighty Ducks fans have plenty to look forward to with Duhamel as the new coach. "Inspirational, charming, hardcore," Disney+'s announcement teased. "He's big on the hockey metaphor that applies to life."
Hopefully Coach Cole has what it takes to make this new generation—including Brady Noon, Maxwell Simkins, Swayam Bhatia and more—soar. We also hope to see him share a screen with Lauren Graham, who plays dedicated hockey mom Alex Morrow.
2022 is certainly Duhamel's year, as he's also slated to star opposite Renée Zellweger in NBC's highly anticipated true crime series The Thing About Pam. Oh, and we'd be remiss if we didn't mention his recent engagement to his girlfriend of more than two years, Audra Mari.
On Saturday, Jan. 8, the actor took to Instagram to say, "It's on!! She found a message in a bottle that washed ashore and said YES!!"
While we wait for more information about season two of Mighty Ducks, you can get caught up on season one on Disney+ now.