You're arguing that scouts wont go to ECNL events looking for players? I dont buy this.It will have to be a grassroot effort by top players along with college scouts. Don't put your kid in ECNL or a traveling league, do local leagues. Save the environment and your family time. If most of the top players are not in ECNL and doing discovery league to remain local, that's where the scouts will go. Don't let the DOCs convince you that lining their pockets, hotel pockets, and airline pockets to go to Dallas in the middle of June is the only way to be better. Get all the good local players together, form a local team and play to win the national championship.
Colleges-don't scout at these rich leagues, focus on local tournaments and only go to the main regional and national tourneys. If there are no scouts at ECNL or travel tournaments, then top players won't sign up for the travelling leagues.
I do believe that ECNL coaches are scouting local leagues looking for potential talent that they can put on scholarship if good enough.