Maine Nordiques forward Makem Demers celebrates a goal with teammate Filip Lofdahl against the Johnstown Tomahawks earlier this month. Ron Morin photo

When Makem Demers took to the ice Dec. 3, it had been 355 days since Demers last put on a Maine Nordiques jersey.

A few weeks shy of a year earlier, the 20-year-old forward from Wilbraham, Massachusetts, tore the ACL and meniscus in his left knee during a practice right before the 2019 Christmas break.

When he finally returned this season, the Nordiques (11-6-0, 22 points) were off to a strong start — they were 7-3-0 before he rejoined them — and Demers knew he could fit into the lineup somewhere and make the team even stronger.

“I was just excited to get back out there,” Demers said. “Once I was able to play, I knew I was going to get back to the way I was playing last year, being a big part of the team, helping out the guys in practice. And I knew the more they helped me compete, the better I would be.”

He stepped right into the lineup and quickly began contributing. Since returning, Demers has been one of the Nordiques’ top players with two goals and four assists in seven games this month.

“It felt great, a bunch of the guys were excited about my return, like all the returning guys, and that brought an energy to the game,” Demers said.

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Demers immediately provided a boost to the team’s offense, giving the Nordiques a 1-0 lead in his first game back with a first-period goal against the Johnstown Tomahawks on Dec. 3. He was one of four players who scored their first goal of the season in the 6-2 victory.

Demers credits his linemates — Cannon Green and Stefan Owens — for the fast start to what is his final junior hockey season.

“It’s been a blast playing with them, because even off the ice, us three are pretty close,” Demers said. “So, the chemistry is really good, which helps a lot.”

Not surprising, Green (three goals and five assists) and Owens (two goals and five assists) are also having more of an effect on the score sheet since Demers’ return.

GETTING INJURED

Makem Demers skates at the Androscogin Bank Colisee in Lewiston earlier this month. He recently returned from an ACL injury he suffered in December 2019. Ron Morin photo

Demers said his injury happened when he went into the boards awkwardly during a mid-December practice in 2019.

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“It was tough because it was at a practice just before the Christmas break, but it’s nothing you can do about it,” Demers said.

The initial prognosis was that Demers would be out of action for a year, but it was later changed to 10 months because hockey players don’t use their ACL as much as most athletes.

Demers was having a nice season before the injury, tallying seven goals and 14 assists in 29 games. He came to the Nordiques as a tender signee in the spring of 2019 after a 18-goal and 24-assist campaign with Pope Francis High School (Springfield, Massachusetts) in 2018-19.

“I thought was going pretty good,” Demers said. “I liked the guys that I played with, I liked the team; it sucked to get hurt.”

The injury didn’t stop him from being a teammate.

“It was a little hard, but I wanted to be there and support the guys, help them out as much as possible,” Demers said. “Pretty much just helping them out.

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GETTING BACK TO THE ICE

The rehabilitation process was slow for Demers. He underwent surgery on his ACL in January and didn’t start rehab until six weeks later.

Right after the rehab started, the world stopped because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Since arenas were closed for most of the spring and early summer, there wasn’t a rush to test Demers’ knee on the ice.

“I think it helped a lot because ice wasn’t opened, so it wasn’t me as the only person who wasn’t able to skate,” Demers said. “It was all the rest of the guys on the team that weren’t able to skate, as well, so that helped. So, when I was able to skate it was most of the other guys’ first time skating (in the summer) as well.”

Demers returned to the ice in late August after the team held its main camp. He was able to start skating with his teammates during training camp in September.

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“It was just getting used to it. It felt a little different, it was a little sore, which was expected” Demers said. “I just had to tested it out a little bit. Now it’s pretty much back to normal.”

Nordiques head coach Nolan Howe said Demers had to put in a lot of work since his return to the ice.

“It was a long process for him to come back, a lot of rehab and a lot of time in the second half of last season watching,” Howe said after the 6-2 win over Johnstown on Dec. 3. “He has been working his tail off in practice the past couple of months, so to have him back in the lineup was a huge boost for us.”

Demers hopes he and the Nordiques can continue their strong play in the second half of the season.

“We just want to win as many games as possible,” Demers said. “I know as a group our team is very talented, if we play the right way and play the way Coach Howe wants us to play, we will win plenty of games.”

GREEN NAMED EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK

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Demers was listed as an honorable mention when the North American Hockey League announced its division players of the week Monday. His Nordiques teammate Cannon Green earned the honor as the East Division Player of the Week.

The 20-year-old forward had a goal and two assists in two games against the Northeast Generals last week.

“Cannon does all the little things in a hockey game that helps others around him succeed, and as a coach you love to see,” Howe said in a NAHL news release. “He drives the net to create time and space, back checks with maximum effort, wins his battles, scores big goals and blocks big shots.”

Howe also said in the news release that Green is finalizing a commitment to play at a Division I university.


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