By Rob Riches, Sports Talk Philly contributor 
Flyers fans may know Paul Holmgren as a quite influential figure in the organization – not only is he the only person to serve it as a player, coach and general manager (albeit a much-maligned GM), but he's still hanging around as team president.
Holmgren took some time to pen an article at The Players' Tribune to discuss his roots as well as what helped get him into hockey, and how he owes so much to his late older brother, Dave. The Players' Tribune has been known for some occasional decent hockey content, and Holmgren's piece doesn't disappoint.
Holmgren tells a story where, at the age of 12, he wanted to attend a hockey camp at Bemidji State University, about three hours from his family's home in St. Paul, Minn. While his working-class family didn't exactly have the money to fund the camp, Dave came up with the money:
"The Bemidji State Camp was one of the best in North America. It was run by Bob Peters (the coach at Bemidji State from 1967 to 2001) and Murray Williamson (a two-time coach of the U.S. Olympic Team and a silver medalist in 1972). One of the camp’s instructors was Larry Pleau, who was about 20 then and playing junior hockey in Montreal. He was one of the few U.S. players thought to be a top NHL prospect at the time.
"I can’t recall the specifics of what was taught, but the camp certainly covered a lot. Most important to me at that age was being on the ice every day. It was bliss. I remember winning some kind of award for achievement and coming home more enthused about hockey than ever before. Going to that camp made me more motivated than ever to pursue a career in the game.
"Perhaps without Dave’s gift, I might still have gone on to play in the NHL — but I doubt it. Everything that I went on to do in hockey (including being a coach and a general manager) I owe to Dave."
Throughout his eight seasons in Philadelphia, Holmgren's been known as one of the toughest to don a Flyers sweater on a nightly basis — this is reflected in his 1,600 penalty minutes as a Flyer, still second-overall in franchise history.
"We all have difficult times in our lives, but whenever I hit one of life’s bumps in the road, I think about Dave. The manner in which he dealt with life, as terrifying as it must have been — one day at a time, with dignity — is something that has stuck with me all these years.
"I have known a lot of tough people in my life, but none tougher than my brother Dave."
Give the whole thing a read if you can — it's certainly worth it. If he keeps this writing thing up, we may even find a gig for him here at Sports Talk Philly!
[h/t The Players' Tribune]
