New Flyer Matvei Michkov will get one of his first official welcomes to Philadelphia on Monday night when he throws out the first pitch at Citizens Bank Park to open up the Phillies-Yankees series.
The Phillies announced their plans to host the city's rookie phenom earlier in the day.
The 19-year old Michkov, who the Flyers drafted seventh overall last summer and are staking a heavy part of their rebuild ambitions on, has arrived over from Russia a couple of years ahead of schedule and will be in their lineup for opening night in October as one of their biggest star presences in years.
When he landed stateside at JFK International in New York early last week, he did so sporting a black Flyers polo and an orange Phillies hat, which immediately grabbed fans attention and started building up his rep within a dedicated sports town.
A day later, when Michkov had his introductory press conference at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, he was asked about the hat and what he knew about the Phillies.
Michkov, through translator and Flyers consultant Slava Kuznetsov, said he knew they were the best team in the city right now and wanted to go see them soon.
He'll be able to check that off the list, in what will be one of his first appearances in front of a full Philadelphia crowd.
UPDATE:
Cam York, Tyson Foerster, and Joel Farabee are at the ballpark, too.
MORE: Matvei Michkov finally arrives as a major break in Flyers' trajectory
Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports