I think that it's a stretch to overly dramatize California as being a
hockey desert. The Pacific region of USA Hockey has 2352 registered teams
most, of course, in Southern California. New England, as a region, has 2488
teams, or 136 more.  Combining a variety of USA Hockey regions clearly
shows that a preponderance of registered hockey teams do exist in the
Northeast and northern part of the midwest. However, the 1500 or so teams
existing in Southern California is not a trivial hockey existance as is
somewhat implied in this thread. Also, I JUST watched the L.A. Jr. Kings
win the 12 and under age group national championship by soundly trouncing
regional championship teams from Boston, New Jersey, Long Island,
Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit (2), and Washington, D.C. I didn't come away
from that tournament with the impression that the Jr. Kings came from a
'wasteland' of hockey!!
 
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