Former hockey player passes away from cancer at 33 years old
Photo credit: USHL
We have some terrible news to report, as the former hockey player Chad Demers passed away from cancer at 33 years old.
Last Thursday, Demers passed away after a six-year battle with brain cancer. While fighting, he continued to work in his passion: hockey.
Chad Demers played in the USHL and the AHA, with the Air Force Academy. In the last season, Demers was assistant coach for Augustana University, in the NCAA.
Garrett Raboin, Augustana University head coach, shared the following statement after the death of his colleague:
"Chad was so much more than a coach for us. He was a brother, a husband, a father. Those are the things that were most important to him. He just cherished his wife and kids. That's what makes this so hard."
Demers was married and had three kids between two and six years old.
Kody Stark, Demers' childhood friend, also commented:
"Chad was one of my best friends for over 30 years, childhood friend Kody Stark said. Through all of his struggles the past six years, he still always asked me how I was doing, how my family was. It was never about him. Everything was for the people he loved. You won't find one teammate, player he coached - or coach he coached with - that wouldn't say he was the smartest hockey mind in the room, even with his illness. He was the greatest Spoiler of all-time. I'll remember him always."
This is a tough loss for the hockey world, who stands together for Demers' family as they go through this challenge.
Latest 10 stories
