By Matt Nielsen

Brendan Walsh resigned Monday as assistant coach of the men’s hockey team to take a spot at the state police academy. Head coach Greg Cronin hired Walsh when Cronin came to Northeastern before the 2005-06 season.

He was involved not only in team practices and game preparation, but also helped scout and recruit players and acted as an academic supervisor. Walsh was halfway through his second season with the team when he departed to begin his career as a Boston Police officer.

“Anyone who knows Brendan knows that he has a lot of energy and enthusiasm,” Cronin said “I call him the Pied Piper of kids. They’re just drawn to him.”

Cronin added that Walsh developed an impressive network for recruiting, and that he has a “buzz” about him that helps bring athletes to Northeastern, including three highly touted recruits who agreed to play for Northeastern just last week.

The police academy uses a lottery system by which qualified recruits are drawn for positions twice a year, once in the last week of November and once in May.

“We were hoping Brendan would be selected during the off-season, but he told me a few weeks ago that he thought he had been selected, so I’ve known for about three weeks,” Cronin said.

Before college, Walsh won the United States Hockey League title with the Omaha Lancers and was named a USHL All-Star. He was later named to the U.S. National team, where he won a silver medal at the Tampere Cup.

Walsh was part of the 1999 national champion Maine Black Bears after transferring from Boston University. He went on to play professional hockey for six teams, including the Providence Bruins where he was voted a fan favorite.

Cronin and staff have begun the search for a replacement but could not reveal any details about who they are targeting.