Tyler Walsh, the son of legendary University of Maine hockey coach Sean Walsh, has been named the new head coach at Gustavus Adolphus University in St. Peter, Minnesota.
Walsh, 33, who has spent the past six seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Colby College in Waterville, will replace Brett Petersen.
Petersen will step down after 24 seasons to become a club athletic director at an NCAA Division III school and a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Walsh began his coaching career at the University of Maine, where he spent three seasons as a student assistant coach and video coordinator under Tim Whitehead from 2010-2013.
He spent the 2013-14 season as director of hockey operations at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. After two years as an assistant coach and intern with the junior team in the U.S. National Team Development Program and two years as head coach at North Yarmouth Academy, he joined Colby College and former Massachusetts Lowell and Niagara University head coach Blaise MacDonald. worked under.
His father, who led the University of Maine to two NCAA championships and 399 wins in 17 seasons, died of renal cell carcinoma on September 24, 2001. He is in the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame.
His grandfather is the late Ron Mason, a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame who won 924 games over 36 seasons at Lake Superior State University, Bowling Green University and Michigan State University.
“Tyler impressed the search committee, administrators, and coaches in many ways during the interview process, including his leadership skills, strong motivation, and work ethic,” Gustavus Adolphus athletic director Tom Brown said in a press release. It was outstanding,” he said.
“An up-and-coming head coach, Tyler is charismatic, collaborative, and has a strong coaching pedigree with his father and grandfather both having great success as hockey coaches.
“We are excited to have Tyler lead our program into a new era of Gustavus men's hockey,” Brown added.
Walsh said he was “humbled'' to know he was “taking over from former great coaches in Brett Petersen and Don Roberts.''
“Our coaching staff is focused on player development and preparing them to play an exciting brand of hockey,” said Walsh, a 2013 Maine graduate who earned his master's degree from Thomas College in Waterville last year.
He thanked Brown and everyone involved in the selection process for “entrusting me with the opportunity to develop these players into not only student-athletes, but community leaders both on and off the ice.”
Gustavus Adolphus posted a record of 11-12-2 and 6-9-1 in the MIAC last season.
The Golden Gusties appeared in the NCAA Division III Tournament three times under Coach Petersen, finishing as national runner-up in 2009.
