Former Air Force offensive star Demers back with Falcons as team’s new director of hockey

Chad Demers racked up a solid playing career at Air Force, graduating from the academy in 2015 (photo: Air Force Athletics).

Chad Demers has been named director of hockey at Air Force.

Demers returns to the academy after spending the last three seasons with the USHL’s Fargo Force, which culminated in a Western Conference championship and a trip to the Clark Cup finals last season.

“We are very excited and fortunate to have Chad Demers join our staff,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said in a news release. “As a coach, there are players you have who you know were meant to be coaches. ‘Demmy’ is one of those players for me. Since graduating from the academy, his successful battle with brain cancer has been well documented, but what is not as well-known is the fine hockey resume he has established in Fargo of the USHL. He has worked alongside my old friend Cary Eades and Pierre-Paul Lamoureux, brother of Falcon great Jacques Lamoureux.

“The experience Demmy has acquired in Fargo, coupled with his first-hand knowledge of the academy, will enable him to make a seamless transition to our staff and he will have an immediate impact on our program.”

Demers, a 2015 Air Force graduate, served as team captain his senior year and was a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, recognizing excellence in the classroom, community, character and competition. He earned the Jim Bowman Award his senior year as the team’s top scholar athlete.

Demers is tied for the school record with 156 consecutive games played and ranks fifth in points with 126 (48 goals, 78 assists) since the Falcons joined a conference in 1999. A two-time academic all-conference selection, he ranks 24th in Air Force history in scoring and helped lead the Falcons to a regular-season and tournament title in 2012.

After graduating, Demers served on active duty as an acquisitions officer at Los Angeles AFB, Calif., and as a ROTC instructor at the University of North Dakota. While in California, he helped coach the L.A. Jr. Kings and the California Patriots.

Demers served as a volunteer assistant coach with the Force for one season before being named assistant coach and scouting director in July 2019. Demers was promoted to associate head coach for the 2020-21 season.