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Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov is a man who loves space, in case you haven't gotten that message already. He thinks about the universe, he dressed up as a cosmonaut and he ponders meteors that come crashing down in his home country.

He loves space so much, in fact, that he got a new mask that features ... Star Wars.

Is Bryz going to the dark side? (Getty Images)
Is Bryz going to the dark side? (@NHLFlyers)

HOW. AWESOME. IS. THAT!?

Star Wars geeks (and I say that fondly as I consider myself to be one, albeit mildly), if you don't have a new favorite player then I don't know what to tell you.

What about the other side? Maybe he has a Jedi-like Luke Skywalker to help balance out the good and dark side of the force. Just no Jar-Jar, for the love of George Lucas, please no Jar-Jar.

Nope, no Jar-Jar or Luke. Instead, it's Yoda and R2D2.

Probably not with Yoda and R2D2 on the mask as well. (@NHLFlyers)
Also the good side -- Yoda and R2D2 are on the mask as well. (@NHLFlyers)

That works out perfectly anyway since Bryzgalov sometimes talks like Yoda. And good choice to go with R2 over C3P0. He rocks.

Bryz, you're the best. Don't ever change.

With this in mind, what should be Bryzgalov's new theme song: The Imperial March or Cantina Band? The latter just sounds so much more Bryz.

Photos via @NHLFlyers

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