John Carlson practices for first time in an Anaheim Ducks uniform: ‘Yesterday was a little crazy. This part of it feels a lot more normal.’

John Carlson donned some unfamiliar colors for the first time in his career on Saturday morning.

Carlson jumped on the ice with his new Anaheim Ducks teammates for the first time since being traded by the Washington Capitals in the early morning hours on Friday.

The 36-year-old defender, clad in orange, black, and white, skated on the club’s extra defense pairing, per The Sports Tribune’s Zach Cavanagh, as he is not yet ready to return from the lower-body injury that has kept him out of action post-Olympic break.

“It’s great,” Carlson told Cavanagh. “Yesterday was a little crazy. This part of it feels a lot more normal. Obviously, a lot going on still, but this is more what I’m used to and was fun to get back out there and feel through getting to know everyone.

“It’s a wild day. There’s a lot of shaking hands and kind of being shown the ropes, showing what’s around and what I need to do, and just get myself prepared to play as quick as possible. Certainly, it was nice getting to know the coaches.”

The Ducks will be without their star acquisition against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday, with a road game against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday likely to be Carlson’s debut. In 55 games for the Capitals this season, Carlson has recorded 46 points (10g, 36a) and skated 22:51 average time on ice per game.

Some of the fans waiting for his highly anticipated first appearance in Ducks colors helped greet Carlson at Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena after Saturday’s practice. The Ducks held a season-ticket holder event in which select players were interviewed on the ice.

After a 6-5 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night, the Ducks sit first in the NHL’s Pacific Division with 73 standings points. They are one point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights and four points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers, with a game in hand on both teams.

Carlson, who said Friday he thought he’d spend his entire career with the Capitals, is ready to help the young upstart squad venture into the postseason for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign. Anaheim’s three leading scorers, Cutter Gauthier (22), Leo Carlsson (21), and Beckett Sennecke (20), were all toddlers when Carlson was drafted by the Capitals in 2008.

“I think I add a lot of value in my play and what I can do out there, but also what I can inject and impart on them mentally or through talking and chatting,” Carlson told The Athletic’s Eric Stephens. “There’s so much talent there. There’s so much fun to be had that it’s an exciting proposition.

“I think these guys, especially now with how skilled they are — they’re top, top, elite players that I’m coming to play with. I’m going to be learning from them, just like I hope that they’ll be learning from me.”

Carlson is still scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in July and, as of now, has yet to talk about a potential contract extension with the Ducks. He is in the final season of the eight-year, $64 million deal that he signed with the Capitals after their Stanley Cup victory in 2018.