KINGS' MR. FIX IT AFTER 35 YEARS AS HEAD TRAINER, DEMERS STILL DEDICATED TO JOB.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Miller remembers the many nights he peered out the airplane window and watched Pete Demers loading equipment during a blizzard.

Then there was the time Demers and his lone assistant, John Holmes, were spotted washing uniforms at 3 a.m. in a Winnipeg laundry.

``And when the players arrived in the morning, Pete was already there,'' said Miller, the longtime voice of the Kings. ``I'm not sure when he slept.''

Many still wonder. In his 35 years as Kings trainer, Demers never has been as challenged as he is now, treating a team with 11 players out of the lineup just one season after the club lost a record 535 man-games to injury.

When he is honored for his 2,500th consecutive game before tonight's game against the Phoenix Coyotes, Demers' only hope is that the ceremony is brief and the players don't get hurt after the game begins.

``I've never seen anything like the past two seasons,'' Demers said. ``In my first year we only had 43 man-games lost to injury. There is no rhyme or reason to it. I appreciate getting to this number of games, but there is so much else going on right now.''

Long gone are the days when Demers repaired gloves, sharpened skates, picked up the dressing room and taught rookies Big Macs were not the only meals on the menu.

But what hasn't changed is a devotion to an organization that has had 14 coaches and eight general managers during his time in L.A.

``To me, he is as important as a player,'' said Kings forward Ian Laperriere, who has missed the past three weeks with a concussion. ``Without him we wouldn't be able to do our job. The hours are brutal, and he doesn't get enough credit.''

Today, the Kings have 10 people doing the work Demers and his assistant did in the early 1970s, including a massage therapist, nutritionist and strength-and-conditioning coaches.

Yet, Demers, 60, remains unchanged from the days when the Kings played at the Forum and trained in Culver City. He and his wife, Marilyn, have been married 33 years and have two children. She still packs him a sandwich every day, tuna fish in the fall, egg whites in the winter and spring.

He was born in Providence, R.I., and his dry New England wit remains. So does the work ethic. The game-day schedule often begins before 8 a.m. and ends after midnight.

In 35 years, Demers also has known his share of injuries. Sitting behind the bench for every game, Demers figures he gets hit by a stray puck at least once every season.

During one training camp, he was struck by a shot that fractured three ribs. He returned to work the next day.

In 1986, Demers escaped serious injury when an equipment truck in which he was riding crashed into a pileup on a New York expressway.

At the last second, Demers ducked onto the floor of the truck to avoid the crush of a heavy skate-sharpening machine that struck the dashboard.

Most nights are less hazardous. But the art of walking on ice in street shoes to treat an injured player should not be underestimated.

``You have to have a rhythm to your steps,'' Demers said. ``And always remind the referee to catch you when you get there.''

Matt McHale, [phone]

matt.mchale(at)dailynews.com

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Pete Demers, shown working on the Kings' Dimitri Khristich during the 1995-96 season, will be honored tonight for his 2,500th consecutive game.