I think the WHL could at least regionalize the draft to some degree. MB/SK teams can only draft MB and SK players. AB=AB. BC=BC. US=US. Playing WHL shouldn't mean moving two time zones away from your family.
But a quick look at the recent draft shows that there are pretty much zero US players drafted...probably because they don't want to give up NCAA eligibility (so fix that, too).
Int'l players could go anywhere, or maybe they are US only until that available talent catches up.
Just looking at the most recent top 10 picks:
5 AB kids drafted all went out of province
3 SK kids all went out of province to the west
1 Victoria BC kid got sent to Siberia (Prince Albert), and 1 Vancouver kid got to go to Victoria
In the next 20 picks six guys stayed within the region described above. So 23 of the top 30 picks had to move very far from home.
Or maybe the 1st round is a free-for-all and then some proximity restrictions kick in. The 108th pick was drafted 1600 kms/17 hr drive from home. The 175th pick was 20 hrs.
Or maybe 15/16 year olds are just done in a regional draft and then they re-enter the wider draft at age 17
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