This is a bizarre argument, even for this board. I think most people understand that for a western Pa kid to make it to the NHL, they are going to have to leave the area at some point. Ryan Malone never stopped being referred to as Upper St. Clair's, even though he spent some teenage years in Minnesota.
The Minnesota model starts with a split season and it doesn’t look like that will happen anytime soon. I personally believe that the current model in This area is limiting the growth of the sport and development of the players.
Here’s a link to the report
http://online.fliphtml5.com/nums/chna/