The ncaa isn't heavily scouting the wshl. Do they pay attention? Minimally. At best it can be a stepping stone to the NAHL, BCHL or maybe the USHL (but that is even a stretch) which could lead to the NCAA. You might find a Picasso in a thrift store but if you are looking for great paintings you go to an art gallery.
Please do yourself a favor and count the number of rostered players from California in the NAHL and BCHL (31) combined. Do the math... how many 16U/18U AAA players are in California? The chances of a California Player making the NAHL and BCHL comes to roughly 3% or a 97% chance of not making it. Do you really think you're in a Art Gallery, Picasso?
btw... The WSHL Showcase Keynote Speaker was Frank Serratore, the Head Coach of U.S. Air Force Academy - NCAA Div.I.
Frank Serratore would come read my 8 year old a bed time story if I paid him to. What is your point? If a kid isn't good enough to get to the at least the NAHL or BCHL he most likely ain't getting near college hockey. Especially D1. The art gallery/thrift store comparison was in reference to the NAHL/BCHL compared to the WSHL, not AAA compared to AA.
California players rostered in tier2 or above juniors according to rubber magazine:
Major Junior (CHL) 14
USHL 14 (US TIER 1)
NAHL 21 (US TIER 2)
AJHL 4 (CANADA TIER 2)
BCHL 16 (CANADA TIER 2)
MANITOBA JHL 1 (TIER 2)
MARITIME JHL 1 (TIER 2)
ONTARIO JHL 2 (TIER 2)
SASKATCHEWAN JHL 7 (TIER 2)
That's 80 kids playing at levels above the wshl. How many kids in those leagues will get looked at by college scouts (or pro for the chl) before they look at a kid in the WSHL? If the math is bad to make tier 2 or above from AAA then it is far worse to make it to the NCAA from the WSHL.
There are about 115 16U AAA players in California, according to CAHA stats(in previous years there were more but the 15u's have been broken out into a different division). Juniors are basically 4 birthyears worth of kids (really mostly 3 but I will give you the benefit of the doubt). So 115 16u's times the last 4 years is a pool of 460 players . 80 out of 460 is 17.3%. Massively higher odds than 3%. Still not a sure thing but not a pipe dream either. When you take into account that the Junior leagues have very few 16 yr olds the odds get better. That would give you a pool of 345 kids. 80 out of 345 is 23.1%. That's almost a quarter of AAA 16u players. Let's assume the number is in the middle at 20%. That's 1 in 5 AAA kids that move through the AAA bottleneck to juniors and have a solid chance of playing NCAA (or choose Major Junior instead of the college route). Also there are probably at least a dozen kids already playing college that are still young enough to play juniors.