From Blimp Rides To Breaking Televisions To Waxed Doughnuts, LA Kings Trainer Emeritus Pete Demers Has Seen It All

June 29, 2011 by 17 Comments

FROZEN ROYALTY EXCLUSIVE — In Part nine of a series, Los Angeles Kings retired head athletic trainer Pete Demers shares more stories involving players, coaches and general managers he worked with during his long career.


Former Los Angeles Kings head athletic trainer Pete Demers, pictured here
behind the bench during the 1995-95 season.
Photo: Los Angeles Kings

LOS ANGELES — In a 41-year career in professional hockey, Los Angeles Kings retired head athletic trainer Pete Demers has certainly seen and heard enough to fill the pages of a good-sized book, sights and sounds that fans and even the media would virtually never have access to.

Whether it was the pre-game rituals some players adhered to game after game, the practical jokes, humorous stories, or just memories of the different characters in and out of the training room, Demers saw it all in 37 years with the franchise, beginning with three years with Springfield of the American Hockey League (the Kings’ minor league affiliate from 1967-75 and 1977-79) before he joined the Los Angeles Kings in 1972. Read more of this post

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LA Kings Retired Trainer Pete Demers Was Honored To Serve On International Stage

March 30, 2011 by 15 Comments

FROZEN ROYALTY EXCLUSIVE: Head athletic trainer emeritus Pete Demers not only spent 37 years in the Los Angeles Kings organization, but he lent his expertise to both Canada and the United States on the international level, at World Championships, the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, and the 1998 Olympic Winter Games. In part seven of this series on his career, Demers reflects on his time on the international stage.

Retired Los Angeles Kings head athletic trainer Pete Demers (third from right) worked several international tournaments, but got his start on the international stage, not with his native United States, but with Canada, in 1986.
Photo: Demers Family Collection

LOS ANGELES — In 43 years of existence, the Los Angeles Kings came close once in 1993, but they have never been able to win the Holy Grail of hockey, the most revered and treasured trophy in professional team sports, the Stanley Cup.

That’s 43 years of stinging disappointment felt by players, coaches, general managers, owners, and fans alike. That also goes for the athletic trainers, and Kings head athletic trainer Pete Demers felt that sting for 34 of those 43 years, before retiring in 2006. Read more of this post

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Still A Kid At Heart, Bernie Nicholls Reflects On His Time With The LA Kings

February 27, 2010 by 5 Comments

Bernie Nicholls
Photo: LA Kings

LOS ANGELES — As they have done with so much of their very best homegrown talent over their 42-year history, the Los Angeles Kings traded away prolific goal scorer Bernie Nicholls, but not before he left his mark on the ice at the Forum in Inglewood, California, the Kings’ home arena during his tenure with the team.

The 6-1, 185-pound native of Haliburton, Ontario was selected by the Kings in the fourth round (73rd overall) of the 1980 National Hockey League Entry Draft. After his final season (1980-81) with the Kingston Canadians of the Ontario Hockey League when he scored 63 goals and added 89 assists for 152 points in 65 games, he found himself with the Kings’ American Hockey League affiliate, the New Haven Nighthawks, to start the 1981-82 campaign.

In 55 games at New Haven, Nicholls lit up the AHL, scoring 41 goals and tallying thirty assists for 71 points, and was called up to the Kings to finish the season. Read more of this post

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Luc Robitaille: The King Of Kings – Part Two

November 9, 2009 by 3 Comments

The following is part two of an updated story written for the Online Kingdom back on April 14, 2006, a few days after Los Angeles Kings left wing Luc Robitaille announced his retirement as a player. It is being re-published in honor of his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 9, 2009. To read part one on FrozenRoyalty.net, click on Luc Robitaille: The King Of Kings – Part One.

Robitaille The Leader

I’ve always admired people who were gifted with the quality of leadership, and when leadership and raw athletic ability are found together in one person, it’s a rare combination to be sure. I think that one of the things that I appreciate most about Luc is that not only does he possess this combination, but that it is manifested in him in a unique way. Luc brings a contagious passion to the rink every day and to everything he does. I found that being around that kind of passion and desire made the game even more enjoyable for me and challenged me to give to my full capacity.
— Former Kings tough guy Stu Grimson Read more of this post

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Luc Robitaille: The King Of Kings – Part One

November 8, 2009 by 4 Comments

The following is an updated story written for the Online Kingdom back on April 14, 2006, a few days after Los Angeles Kings left wing Luc Robitaille announced his retirement as a player. It is being re-published in honor of Robitaille’s induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 9, 2009. To read part two, click on Luc Robitaille: The King Of Kings – Part Two.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Back on April 3, 1995, the night that all-time Los Angeles Kings great Dave Taylor had his jersey number 18 retired by the club, this reporter wrote that he was the King of Kings, earning that right above other all-time Kings’ greats such as Marcel Dionne, Rogie Vachon and Wayne Gretzky.

“No Kings’ player had ever measured up to Taylor when it came to heart, the desire to excel and win and the ability and willingness to go into the corners and sacrifice his body for his team,” I wrote. “No other Kings’ player has ever come close to Taylor as far as leadership—on the ice and off—is concerned, [and] no Kings’ player has ever matched his relentless work ethic, his dedication to his team, the game of hockey and his community.”

To be sure, Taylor had earned the right to wear the crown as the King of Kings, and was a great standard bearer for the organization, both on and off the ice. But on Tuesday, April 11, 2006, the day that Kings all-time great left wing Luc Robitaille announced at a press conference that he would retire at the conclusion of the 2005-06 season, Taylor immediately abdicated the crown because his reign is over. Robitaille now wears the crown as new Kings of Kings. Read more of this post

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