Brian Holmes was a Windsor Locks native who grew up a few steps away from Denslow Park.

He grew up playing all the usual sports in town including baseball, soccer, and during the winter he spent a lot of time at the ice rink that was erected every year at Denslow Park and with a South Windsor travel team.

He was skilled, ambitious and a natural leader.
As he got a little older he followed the steps of his older brother Ted, playing hockey for WL Hall of Fame inductee Billy Stone in early morning games and practices traveling to other outdoor rinks and the indoor games against more established teams.

The early days were spent skating with hand me down equipment with magazines for shin guards, traveling the area with a dedicated group of friends.

Brian developed into a large, tough defenseman with better than
average skating and puck handling skills and a nose for the puck. He was described as “a brick wall, and if you did get by him, you were going down, and always smiling as he took you down”.

After a few years, Billy Stone was offered the position of head coach for the hockey team at Suffield Academy. Coach Stone offered Brian and a few of his friends positions to play for him.

Brian was a prep school All- American in hockey. He also played golf for the Academy.

In his senior year he captained both the hockey and the golf teams.

After Brian graduated he spent his career working for Stanadyne as a manager.

Brian was married to Donna Cail and had two children, Stephanie and Keith.