Iginla: Drafted 11th overall in 1995 (Born Jul. 1/77)
Age 18: WHL for season - Playoffs: 2 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 PTS
Age 19: 82 GP, 21 G, 29 A, 50 PTS - NHL All-Rookie Team
Age 20: 70 GP, 13 G, 19 A, 32 PTS
Age 21: 82 GP, 28 G, 23 A, 51 PTS
Age 22: 77 GP, 29 G, 34 A, 63 PTS
Age 23: 77 GP, 31 G, 40 A, 71 PTS
Age 24: 82 GP, 52 G, 42 A, 96 PTS - Richard Trophy, Art Ross Trophy, Pearson Award
Age 25: 75 GP, 35 G, 32 A, 67 PTS
Age 26: 81 GP, 41 G, 32 A, 73 PTS - Playoffs: 26 GP, 13 G, 9 A, 22 PTS - Richard Trophy
Totals: 626 GP, 250 G, 253 A, 503 PTS - Playoffs: 28 GP, 14 G, 10 A, 24 PTS
Matthews: Drafted 1st overall in 2016 (Born Sep. 17/97)
Age 18: Switzerland, not yet eligible for draft
Age 19: 82 GP, 40 G, 29 A, 69 PTS - Playoffs: 6 GP, 4 G, 1 A, 5 PTS - Calder Trophy, NHL All-Rookie Team
Age 20: 62 GP, 34 G, 29 A, 63 PTS - Playoffs: 7 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 PTS
Age 21: 68 GP, 37 G, 36 A, 73 PTS - Playoffs: 7 GP, 5 G, 1 A, 6 PTS
Age 22: 70 GP, 47 G, 33 A, 80 PTS - Playoffs: 5 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 PTS
Age 23: 52 GP, 41 G, 25 A, 66 PTS - Playoffs: 7 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 PTS - Richard Trophy
Age 24: 73 GP, 60 G, 46 A, 106 PTS - Playoffs: 7 GP, 4 G, 5 A, 9 PTS - Hart Trophy, Richard Trophy, Lindsay Award
Age 25: 74 GP, 40 G, 45 A, 85 PTS - Playoffs; 11 GP, 5 G, 6 A, 11 PTS
Age 26: 81 GP, 69 G, 38 A, 107 PTS - Playoffs: 5 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS - Richard Trophy
Totals: 562 GP, 368 G, 281 A, 649 PTS - Playoffs: 55 GP, 23 G, 25 A, 48 PTS
Ages 19-23 seasons all heavily favour Matthews.
Age 24 season is a tie, Iggy won the Richard, Ross and Pearson while Matthews won the Hart, Richard and Lindsay.
Age 25 is a down season for both, but Matthews gets the slight edge.
Age 26 again is extremely close. Both won the Richard and while Iggy had an incredible playoff run (leading NHL with 13 goals), it's impossible to ignore a 69 goal season. I'll give this one a tie.
As for career wise, it's easily Matthews at this point.
Moving forward - Iggy after age 26:
Age 27 - DNP - Lockout
Age 28 - 82 GP, 35 G, 32 A, 67 PTS - Playoffs: 7 GP, 5 G, 3 A, 8 PTS
Age 29 - 70 GP, 39 G, 55 A, 94 PTS - Playoffs: 6 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS
Age 30 - 82 GP, 50 G, 48 A, 98 PTS - Playoffs: 7 GP, 4 G, 5 A, 9 PTS
Age 31 - 82 GP, 35 G, 54 A, 89 PTS - Playoffs: 6 GP, 3 G, 1 A, 4 PTS - Messier Award
Age 32 - 82 GP, 32 G, 37 A, 69 PTS
Age 33 - 82 GP, 43 G, 43 A, 86 PTS
Age 34 - 82 GP, 32 G, 35 A, 67 PTS
Age 35 - 44 GP, 14 G, 19 A, 33 PTS - Playoffs: 15 GP, 4 G, 8 A, 12 PTS
Age 36 - 78 GP, 30 G, 31 A, 61 PTS - Playoffs: 12 GP, 5 G, 2 A, 7 PTS
Age 37 - 82 GP, 29 G, 30 A, 59 PTS
Age 38 - 82 GP, 22 G, 25 A, 47 PTS
Age 39 - 80 GP, 14 G, 13 A, 27 PTS
Totals - 928 GP, 375 G, 422 A, 797 PTS - Playoffs: 53 GP, 23 G, 21 A, 44 PTS
Iginla loses a season right in the middle of his prime due to the lockout. He remains a very durable player throughout these years and wins the Messier Award.
Matthews will have the better age 27 season (he will actually play) and likely age 28 season. Iginla has some very strong seasons from age 29-36, especially from 29-31 and again at 33. It will be interesting to see how Matthews ages.