SAN DIEGO — Before a 16-year-old Noah Baird could score a role in season two of Disney's Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, the Carlsbad actor had to find a hockey rink in a hurry. In this Zevely Zone, I visited the San Diego Ice Arena in Mira Mesa.
Southern California isn't known for ice or hockey, but this is a show that had to go on. "I was excited, and I was nervous," said Noah who is a junior at Sage Creek High School.
Noah loves to surf but strapping on ice skates was a different story. Especially when the casting crew asked Noah to make a skating audition tape.
"I did actually," laughed Noah. He sent the video to the show's makers and got the role! His mother Becky laughs at the thought of suddenly becoming a hockey mom. "Oh, my goodness who'd have thunk it?" said Becky.
Noah's mother doesn't know a thing about the sport and that makes the two of us. For this story, I called CBS 8 hockey consultant Eric Kahnert.
Although Disney sent Noah to hockey school, Eric, our morning CBS 8 anchor, had some slick pointers of his own. "Here we go Noah," said Eric. "We have to see if this guy knows how to shoot a puck." Eric was the captain of his USC hockey team and the school's first All-American. He played at USC from 1998-2002.
Eric may be a star in the rink, but Noah knows a few celebrities of his own. He showed me a picture of him mugging with Maya Rudolph and Ana Gasteyer. I first met Noah when he was 11 years old. He has appeared in the Broadway show, "Matilda the Musical," and a New York production of "A Christmas Story: The Musical." He also co-starred in Fox TV's "A Christmas Story: Live".
Eric and Noah passed the puck up and down the ice. "When I found out Noah got that role, I said way to go Noah!!" said Eric.
Noah will play the role of Fries in the show. His character is the little brother of an arrogant hockey player who thinks Fries could only be a side dish to the main course. "I am confident that people are going to love it, it was a ton of fun to film and just knowing what I saw on set and knowing how much fun everyone had it's going to be great," said Noah.
The Mighty Ducks are always underdogs, which means we should expect a Disney miracle right? "No spoilers unfortunately, you have to wait, September 28th it comes out though," laughed Noah. As for our feel-good story, it ended with Noah scoring a goal. Or as Eric called it, "He sees Noah Baird high in the slot here comes the pass, he shoots he scores!! Yeah!!!!."
Season two of Mighty Ducks: Game Changers premieres on Disney plus on September 28th.
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