We wrote earlier this week about Ilya Bryzgalov, the Flyers goaltender who apparently ducked questions about a recent illness by claiming he was at the "Mission Control Center" with the Russian space program.

"The thing is that now I am in the Mission Control Center," Bryz said according to Google Translate. "Astronaut suit on me. And you will understand that it disturbs me to communicate."

We know how much Bryz is obsessed with space and the universe and our humongous big solar system -- our galaxy is small tiny if you see the big picture, you know? -- so we thought he was just toying around. You know, being Bryz. Having a little fun with the reporter and going along with the whole space joke thing.

Ummmm, nope, he was actually there with a cosmonaut suit on and everything. Via Russia's Lenta.ru, another Google translation:

Goalkeeper of the Russian Ice Hockey Ilya Bryzgalov visited the Cosmonaut Training Center and put on the suit there. The goalkeeper made ​​it on the air TV "Hockey 24", which goes to the TV channel "Russia 24".... The program also showed how Bryzgalov dons the suit. "I like Darth Vader is from 'Star Wars'," - said the goalkeeper, when dressed in the clothes of the astronaut.

Oh, and a Darth Vader reference for bonus points. Never change, Bryz.

Not done yet. There's video. It's in Russian, but stil worth every ounce of the seven minutes, 53 seconds worth of energy you'll spend watching it. He struggles to get out of the suit at the end. Like, we're not kidding. Watch it.

And now, a gallery of Ilya Bryzgalov, the cosmonaut photos:

Grid View





















This is all real. We couldn't make this up if we wanted to.

h/t Amy Fetherolf