As Jabari Arthur puts it, he is “almost a full-fledged Calgarian”.

Born and bred in Montreal, the 6-foot-4 receiver is in the midst of spending his first off-season in Calgary.

“A lot has changed in my life,” says Arthur. “I’m a soon-to-be-daddy so I decided I have to set my feet somewhere, set my roots, so I settled here in Calgary.

“I bought a house, moved out here, even my license plate changed,” he says.

Arthur makes the almost-daily trek to McMahon Stadium to work out with some of his teammates as they prepare for the 2014 season.

“I’m absolutely excited about this upcoming season,” Arthur says. “Every season I’m excited but what’s more exciting for me is I’m actually living in the city that I’m playing in.”

A six-year CFL vet, Arthur is coming off his best season so far. Last August when all-star slotback Nik Lewis‘ season ended with an unfortunate leg injury, No. 81 made the most of his opportunity to fill in, racking up a career-high 41 catches for 510 yards and three touchdowns. 

“Jabari has stepped up tremendously,” Lewis told Stampeders.com in October. “He goes out and makes big plays and uses his body well.”

In addition to spending his days training for the upcoming season, Arthur has become a fixture at Stampeders community events. From serving food for CUPS Christmas in January to raising money for local charities through celebrity poker to shaving his beard off at the Make a Wish Foundation’s Hair Massacure, Jabari has been giving back to the city he now calls home. 

He has yet to miss a Stampeders basketball game, where he draws cheers from the kids with his signature slam dunks. He’s more than happy to sign autographs after the games and take ‘selfies’ with the students.

“It’s been a blast,” Arthur says of playing off-season hoops. “I can’t remember when I had this much fun playing basketball. The guys are great, all the schools we go into, you can see the fun and excitement with the young kids and whatnot, so we just go out there and have fun. I just go out there and try to dunk the ball when I can.  Honestly, the last couple months have been really, really great.”

Other than being “a little bit unprepared” for the frigid cold-weather streak Calgary experienced in February, Arthur says he is adjusting well to life in the west. 

“I got myself a few cowboy hats and I think the next step for me is to buy a belt buckle,” he laughs. “I’m just taking my time trying to adapt, so to speak, to get my feet wet to out west living.”