Jets winger Blake Wheeler will never forget the moment Jacob Trouba instantly earned his respect.

Sometime during Trouba’s first or second NHL season in Winnipeg, the Jets were losing a game and Wheeler was heated in the locker room in between periods. Wheeler, who captained the Jets for six seasons, may not have been calling out individuals, but he was letting the team hear it.

Trouba suddenly interjected: “Well, what about you?”

“I mean, he might’ve been 20,” Wheeler recalled to The Post in a recent interview. “That always stood out to me. I think that’s probably why there was instant respect from me towards him. It was just like wow, that took some guts and I respect the fact that he’s absolutely right. I remember saying that at the time, ‘100 percent, this is me, too.’