‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ Recap: ‘Out of Bounds’

Written by Zeke Perez Jr.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 202 of ‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’. To revisit the season two premiere, click here.
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Things are heating up in sunny L.A. at the EPIC hockey summer camp! Coach Cole has the campers waking up at 5 in the morning, the nutrition regimen is less than delicious, and the workouts are intense. Unsteady dynamics are continuing to simmer inside and outside of the team, with some tensions close to boiling over. 
 
Coach Cole introduces player performance bands that track active minutes, muscle mass, agility, hand-eye coordination, and a variety of other athletic measures to produce real time player rankings that change based on activity and skill. The camp’s coaching staff will use these rankings to draft teams for an in-house tournament, with the winner going on to play Team Canada in a summer showcase. Not only do the rankings impact future play, they’re also on a big ever-changing board for all to see. 
 
Alex and some of the Ducks are apprehensive about the stat tracking. Some players feel like standards are too high and that they don’t fit in with the elite players at the camp. Coach Cole and Alex continue to clash over their philosophies on what a summer camp should look like for kids, over her role working for the camp and supporting his mission, and what makes a good team player. 
 
Coach Cole continues to keep an eye on one of the most talented Ducks, supporting Evan and letting him know that he has the potential to be one of the top-20 campers, which would land him a spot in a clinic for the best of the best. Meanwhile, Alex inadvertently bonds with Jace over their frustrations with Coach Cole before realizing that he’s the coach’s son. Jace, still disinterested in being pushed by his dad towards devoting all of his time to hockey, commiserates about what he and Alex dislike most about the camp. A Cobra Kai-esque situation is brewing, with Evan ditching his mom’s philosophy for Coach Cole’s and with Jace more in line with Alex’s approach.
 
Pockets of friction are still building within the team. Evan likes the atmosphere and the support of the coach. Nick doesn’t feel like he’s a top player and is starting to crumble under the pressure of the camp. While on a lengthy run, Nick gets lost in the woods and tries to break away from the camp. Sophie urges the other Ducks to go hunt for Nick, but Evan wants to attend the coach’s clinic. Sophie worries that Evan may be turning into someone who puts himself before the team thanks to Coach Cole’s pressure. 
 
This episode really shines a light on Coach Cole as a brilliant, deep character. He’s not a pure villain like other coaches we’ve seen in past entries of the franchise; he’s well-developed, layered, and seems to be passionate about hockey for the right reasons. Although he was hesitant to accept the Ducks team he mistakenly invited, he’s quick to advise them and help them grow - albeit mainly gravitating to those with talent that can help him win. Josh Duhamel is playing the character extremely well, and he feels like a perfect addition to the franchise. 
 
A storm is looming on the horizon for the Ducks. The small fractures throughout the team continue to grow slowly and steadily. The performance draft on the horizon threatens to split the Ducks players up across several teams, leading to some very interesting and intense matchups ahead on and off the ice. While the episode ends with Nick returning and the team coming together in a happy moment, it appears that the Ducks are swimming towards some tough tests upstream. 

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