Will never get this logic - other than the huge profits to be made at the expense of our children - but unfortunately it is pervasive not only in hockey but youth sports in general in the United States.
The notion that somehow the only way an athlete can develop is by leaving home; ignoring the benefits of playing in crowded arenas, with players you've known all your lives, and growing both physically and emotionally before heading off to junior and/or college hockey.
Just the amount of time you can spend sleeping at home, training, and studying is far superior for development as opposed to hours spent in hotels, buses, and traveling - and then often playing one-sided contests due to the disparity in talent. For every London Knights or Portland Winterhawks franchise that annually produces NHL draft picks there are 3-5 franchises merely icing teams with few players likely to move to higher levels.
The story is similar in the USHL and the NAHL.
Javon Moore is headed to the University of Minnesota and was drafted. Would he have gained much more by skipping high school hockey?