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The Columbus Blue Jackets have hired Bill Zito as the assistant general manager to Jarmo Kekalainen, the team announced on Monday afternoon. Zito had previously worked as a player representative at Acme World Sports, a management company that he co-founded. His client list included Antti Niemi, Brian Rafalski, Kimmo Timonen, Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask and Valtteri Filppula.
A graduate of Yale University, Zito earned his law degree from the University of Wisconsin. While earning his degrees, Zito was a member of Yale's varsity hockey team and went onto become an assistant coach at Wisconsin.
In addition to Zito's two-plus decades of player representation, Kekalainen believes that he will offer valuable insight to the Blue Jackets organization, via the team's website:
"Bill Zito is an astute businessman who understands all facets of our game and will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Columbus Blue Jackets," said Kekalainen. "I have known Bill for many years and believe he will be a great addition to our hockey operations staff as we continue our efforts to build a championship-caliber team."
Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch writes that Zito will head the team's pro scouting department and will play a key role in college scouting.
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