Following the departure of Emilio Estevez from The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, the Ducks have been left without a hockey veteran to step in and guide the team following their big win against the team formerly known as the Mighty Ducks in Season 1. Now, the Disney+ series found their new leading man in Josh Duhamel who will take the reins now that Gordon Bombay is out of the picture.

Duhamel's new character will be a former NHL player named Gavin Cole who takes the Ducks under his wing when they attend the prestigious summer hockey institute. He's a hockey lifer who can be both inspirational and charming as well as intense, believing "the hockey metaphor that applies to life." He runs the institute which is touted as a rigorous training ground for young, aspiring hockey players. Duhamel joins a cast that includes Lauren Graham, Brady Noon, Maxwell Simkins, Swayam Bhatia, Julee Cerda, Luke Islam, Bella Higginbotham, Taegen Burns, Kiefer O’Reilly, and De’Jon Watts.

Duhamel has been all over the place lately, recently appearing in Jupiter's Legacy as the leader of the Union of Justice Sheldon Sampson, and he's set to appear in Shotgun Wedding and The Thing About Pam later this year. He's also lent his voice out to a few projects as of late, including the recent Blade Runner anime series Black Lotus, Night of the Animated Dead, and in both parts of Batman: The Long Halloween as iconic villain Harvey Dent. In the past, he's been an integral part of Michael Bay's Transformers franchise, appearing throughout the series as William Lennox.

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Image via Disney+

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News of Estevez's departure broke back in November after Disney Television Studios decided to cut ties with the star after a lengthy back and forth over the set's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The show said that all cast and crew in Zone A, which covers face-to-face interaction, would be required to take the vaccine, something Estevez's agents couldn't promise. In his own statement to Deadline, Estevez claimed the decision was made due to a contract dispute between him and the studio as well as creative differences.

The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers was renewed for a second season back in August and will see showrunners and executive producers Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith return. Graham, Steve Brill, George Heller, Brad Petrigala, Jordan Kerner, Jon Avnet all executive produce as well with ABC Signature producing. Season 1 is currently available to stream on Disney+.