Well above PPG? He's got 116 points in his last 109 games..he's over a PPG, yes, but let's not get carried away here. Yes, Scheifele is a capable player defensively, as is Matthews. Matthews is already being lauded for his defensive play and is garnering Selke consideration and posting very good possession stats, once again, all at the age of 20. He's been compared to Toews & Kopitar for a couple of years now. He's a big, strong, two-way center who's capable of taking over games.
I Never said that PPG centers who are responsible defensively are a dime a dozen, quite the contrary; they are in fact very rare. I'm not attempting to downplay Scheifele's talent, he's a very, very good hockey player. I'm merely of the opinion that Matthews will almost certainly surpass Scheifele, sooner rather than later, I don't think that's a controversial opinion.