Last summer I met Dr. Alicia Lessard for the first time when I visited the then new Step Medical Clinic in Côte Saint-Luc, which she runs with Dr. David Rothstein, Several months later the Montreal Canadiens made a trade with the Nashville Predators, acquiring defenceman Alex Carrier. It was only then that I discovered that Carrier’s wife was none other than Dr. Lessard.

I’ve had the good fortune of meeting Carrier a few times since. In fact, the power couple had agreed to sit down with me for a Suburban On Air video interview last winter during the all-star break. But their flight was cancelled due to a snowstorm. We put it off until post-season and it finally took place last Thursday. In the interest of mutual busy schedules, we did so virtually. They have been together for a decade since he was in junior hockey. Their long distance connection remained intact, despite the challenges of Alex spending several seasons in the minors and Alicia working through medical school and residency.

“We’ve always been two people with a lot of ambition who like to help each other,” Alicia said. “When I see him playing and succeeding like that, it pushes me even more to excel in my career, and it’s the same for him. Now that I’m here full time, things have become even easier!”

The trade to Montreal was a dream come true. Alex acknowledged that he thought one day he might land with the Habs as a free-agent. What was the first thing he asked his wife when they had stability in their lives? “I wanted a dog,” he said, showcasing on camera their adorable puppy Sunny.

Travel Triumph: Kirkland’s Ian McAskill of The Travel Agent Next Door Agency recently earned the distinguished Certified Travel Associate (CTA) designation from The Travel Institute, the travel industry’s benchmark for educational excellence and the only organization dedicated to travel professional education at all stages of their career from new agent training to advanced front-line agent to mid-level manager to industry leader. I asked McAskill how business stands for Trumpville. “Bookings to the U.S. are completely down,” he confirmed.

COHEN CHATTER: When I walked over to the sushi bar at Ryu Griffintown less than two weeks ago to say hello to Chef Michael Godin, little did I realize that there was rock royalty right next to me. Dining there in advance of their solid performance at Osheaga were members of The Killers, Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. …While in Toronto I went for breakfast at the Eggspectation location downtown next to the Eaton Centre. The man in charge is Bennett Renda, a former Pierrefonds resident and son of company founder Enzo Renda….Kettlemans Bagel turned 32 yesterday. With locations in Ottawa, Toronto and one across from the Bell Centre, they were selling bagels to celebrate at 32 cents each… The grand opening of the Aspire x American Express Lounge at YUL Montreal-Trudeau International Airport will be held in early September. This will mark the first common-use lounge in the domestic terminal and Amex’s first co-branded lounge in Canada.

Have an item to share? Mike Cohen can be reached at mcohen@thesuburban.com . Follow him on X, Instagram and Bluesky @mikecohencsl