Who are these guys?

It seems the rest of the NHL is beginning to take notice of the Little Team That Thinks It Can on the Canadian prairie.

Located in one of the league’s smallest markets and playing in its smallest building, the Winnipeg Jets are one of its biggest surprises as we near the 30-game mark.

After a dismal start, the Jets are playing as well as anybody going on seven weeks now, and have the numbers to back it up.

Consider this: since opening with a 2-5 mark, Paul Maurice’s bunch has gone 13-4-5, picking up 31 points and moving up 10 places in the Western Conference standings — from 14th and dead-last to seventh (going into Wednesday night).

Only two teams, St. Louis with 33 points and Pittsburgh with 32, have made more hay than the Jets since Oct. 24.

That’s pretty elite company.

And it’s starting to translate into some league-wide recognition.

A story on NHL.com, Wednesday, looked exclusively at the Jets for the first time, focusing on how the players have bought into Maurice’s defence-first system.

Earlier this week the Los Angeles Times, which had a reporter traveling with the Anaheim Ducks, ran a piece on the Jets.

But the post-game comments from opposing coaches and players are even more telling.

“There were areas when they physically dominated us,” is how Dallas head coach Lindy Ruff saw his team’s 5-2, home-ice loss to the Jets, Tuesday.

Four days earlier, a similar sentiment emanated from the Colorado Avalanche dressing room.

“We just got outplayed from puck drop to final buzzer tonight by a team that’s ahead of us,” was center Matt Duchene’s take after the Jets walked all over the Avalanche, 6-2. “They just wanted it more than us, I guess.”

They sure look like they want it more than they used to.

Where in the past it was a bit of a mystery which Jets team would show up on any given night — it wasn’t always worth the effort of turning on the television set, even — these days you can pretty much bank on an effort worthy of an expensive night at the rink.

Winning ugly has never looked so good.

Oh, you can still find reasons to doubt all this is for real.

The Jets have just three wins in 13 games against teams that were in playoff position going into Wednesday night.

So they’re not exactly giant-killers.

But anyone expecting a collapse better not be holding their breath.

By now you’d think the loss of defencemen Zach Bogosian and Toby Enstrom would have exposed this team’s lack of depth.

Instead, Maurice’s system is so entrenched it’s made Ben Chiarot look like he’s been playing in the NHL for four years, not four games.

Even Dystin Byfuglien looks like he belongs on the blue line again, and that’s about as unlikely as the way they weather’s turning this week.

Anybody notice Evander Kane’s absence on Tuesday?

Didn’t think so.

The Jets were as feisty as ever, even with No. 9 on the suspended list, Mark Scheifele proving what he told me this week about sticking up for teammates holds true for him, too.

Like Maurice, I’m not sure Scheifele should be dropping his gloves just because a teammate takes a big hit.

But it does show what might be this team’s biggest strength, aside from its commitment to giving up personal glory to shut down the other team.

Maurice has touched on it a few times lately, and did again in the NHL.com piece.

“There’s something going on in that room and it’s really positive,” the coach said. “It’s not just winning. There’s something more going on with this group. They really seem to like each other.”

The rest of the NHL is starting to, too.