by Aaron Portzline, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH , The Columbus Dispatch

Hitchcock was formally introduced yesterday as an associate coach for Team Canada, the right-hand man to Babcock, the coach. Lindy Ruff and Jacques Lemaire are the other two assistants.

It has the potential to be awkward, Hitchcock acknowledged. He and Babcock go toe-to-toe throughout the season as Central Division rivals, and it was the Red Wings who swept Hitchcock and the Blue Jackets out of their first berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

"It's going to be ... different," Hitchcock said. "But one of the first things we discussed when we all got together is that there will be no holding back.

"During the regular season, competition is competition. But, in this case, we'll all be trying to help our country reach a very important goal."

Hitchcock then fought back a chuckle.

"Are there going to be things he reveals to me that might help our team?" Hitchcock said. "Absolutely. But he gets the same opportunity with me."

Hitchcock, as associate coach, will not be on the bench during games, he said. Instead, he'll serve as Team Canada's "eye in the sky," watching from the press box high above the rink to help with in-game adjustments.

Beyond that, he'll work closely with Babcock on pregame scouting reports for players and postgame reviews.

It will be Hitchcock's third Olympics. He also was an assistant in the 2004 World Cup.

"I feel really lucky," he said. "To coach in three Olympic Games is special for me. It's such an opportunity for me to learn.

"The preparation and the exchange of systems, it really helps you as a coach, to go through it with other elite coaches. And I think my experience of what went wrong and needs to get better can help the cause."

\ Weber to miss camp

Blue Jackets prospect Will Weber will not attend the club's development camp next week, general manager Scott Howson said.

But the defenseman's absence is not related to his arrest on theft and underage drinking charges Sunday in Oxford, Ohio.

"He's taking a summer college course (at Miami University) that conflicts with our camp," Howson said.

Weber, a second-round pick in 2007, was arrested by Oxford police after taking a woman's purse at a bar on the Miami campus. The 20-year-old told police that he'd had six or eight beers at a residence before entering the bar.

According to Howson, Weber told Blue Jackets development coach Tyler Wright the same story he told police, that he mistakenly took the woman's purse, believing it to be that of a friend.

\ Party set for tonight

The Jackets will hold a draft party from 5 to 9 p.m. tonight in Nationwide Arena. Steve Mason, R.J. Umberger and Jared Boll will sign autographs. Admission is free.

aportzline@dispatch.com

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