Ovechkin on space tourism: I am doing all right staying on Earth

Alexander Ovechkin has always been viewed as a rather peculiar, somewhat eccentric fellow. Now it may be apropos to refer to him as a “space oddity.”

The Washington Capitals superstar recently had an asteroid named after him in Russia. Astronomer Leonid Elenin — who said he named the asteroid, discovered in 2009, after Ovi as a late birthday gift — presented the NHL superstar with a certificate documenting the honor. Afterward, Ovechkin discussed his views on space travel . . . and his comments were fantastic.

When asked if he would ever consider doing a bit of space tourism to visit his eponymous asteroid, Ovechkin had this to say:

“I am doing all right staying on Earth,” as translated by Igor Kleyner. “Don’t want to do something that risky. Maybe when I am older, closer to the sunset of my life, I can take flight to the stars and stay there. I’ll build a dacha [vacation home] on my asteroid. But it’s nice to be able to look into the sky knowing there is Ovechkin out there.”

Don’t ever change, Alexander Ovechkin. Shine on, you crazy, asteroid name-influencing diamond.

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