This move is like going from the backyard shack up to a lofty condominium!

It is great to be a part of the Sports Blog nation!

I'm Robert Lefebvre, and for over two years now my Eyes On The Prize site has grown to become fairly well known among Canadiens fans and their blogging community. The site's content tends to apply the title as it's motto - to follow the Canadiens on their pursuit towards a Stanley Cup win.

As the Canadiens are almost as old as professional hockey itself, I often glance back through the team's origins for focus going forward. The Canadiens are much like anything that has existed for a century, in that in becoming a standard in many ways, they have also done just about everything right in hockey, and everything wrong, along the way. I take those notions into the present tense, and apply such thinking to how I view the current team.

It won't always be obvious or apparent, but as a long time fan it is for me to only way to look at things.

I became a fan of the game in 1969. At seven years old, I wanted to be Bobby Orr. Oddly enough, I became a Habs fan at a Cornwall Royals game, by watching the Quebec Remparts Guy Lafleur destroy my hometown heroes. I vowed then and there, after witnessing first hand a most beautiful player, that wherever Lafleur went in the NHL, I would follow.

I barely recall watching the Canadiens win the Cup in 1969, but I saw every faceoff when they did in 1971. In all I have watched the Canadiens hoist nine Lord Stanley's. It's hard to translate to someone exactly what that means in terms of knowledge and insight, but what I often attempt to do is pass some of that on to readers.

New readers will catch on fairly quickly that sharing what I've learned is a big thing with me. To the uninitiated, that tends to make me come off as arrogant and sometimes pompous, and I apologize for that. I hardly know everything there is to know about hockey and the Canadiens - but I want to!

I've always considered myself a student of the game, as much as a fan. I seek to learn as much as I can about hockey, from every point of view possible.

I've played the game to less than stellar achievements. From 1988 to 1996 I coached boys house league hockey in the CMHA, and it was an eye opener in many respects. For a brief stint, I did some junior hockey scouting on a volunteer basis. Today I have a 13 year old daughter who is her ninth season in the game. There isn't a person in the world I envy more than her!

Since beginning the Eyes On The Prize site in July of 2006, I have posted close to a thousand entries. The most rewarding aspect of it all has been my involvment in the Canadiens fans online community. Through the Montreal Gazette's Habs Inside Out blog, I have been able to meet with fans of my site on two occasions. Most recently, I was involved in helping to raise $1,250 for the Gainey Foundation. It is something I hope to continue with over the coming years.

Moving my site to Sports Blog Nation was an easy hurdle to make. SBN has been very accomodating in many ways. As soon as I was informed that my site name and archives would follow me over, I was thrilled. As I am sure new readers will now be reached, bringing the archives along felt essential to me in allowing new friends to find out what this site is all about. I cannot even estimate how happy I am that I could do this.

To the new readers of Eyes On The Prize, I welcome you to dig deep into past posts. I believe there are many rewarding reads in the backlogs, and they will be brought forth from time to time, when the perspective calls for it.

For my old friends from the site's previous incarnation, I hope you quickly get comfortable in these new digs. You will have to sign up for a login to comment on the posts, and once that is achieved I hope to witness much lively banter in that section, and take part in it as often as I am able.

Now, time to get blogging. There's a Stanley Cup in sight!