Matt Walsh has had the “interim” label removed from his title and is now a full-time assistant coach for Wisconsin.
Walsh, a former Wisconsin defenseman, came in as an assistant last November, replacing Bill Butters.
“I think having Matt with us since November, we were able to see first-hand how he interacts with college students and the work that he does on the ice,” said UW head coach Mike Eaves in a news release. “It became clear as time went on that he was very capable of doing the job here.
“We also got to know him as a man, we got to know his family and it all matches up really well. We went through due diligence in the process. We had many people apply. I talked to a handful of people who I thought might be serious candidates and chatted with them, but in the end, it all came back to Matt and what he did for us this year.”
Walsh will continue his duties coaching the Badgers’ defensemen and getting more involved in recruiting.
“Since the end of the season, this has been a question mark,” added Walsh. “I felt like I could do this and I wanted to do this. The interim position was good for me. It was like an internship where I got to really know what the job is like.
“Hockey has been a passion of mine for a long, long time and now I get to continue to help the program like I felt I did throughout the course of the year. I think going forward, the details I can work on with the players, especially the defenseman, and building on the relationships we’ve built to get what we need done will help make the players successful, the team successful and the program successful.
“Wisconsin hockey is something I’ve been a part of since going to hockey games when I was eight years old. Now to actually come full circle as a coach here and try to improve the program and make it the best in the nation — that is the goal.”
