In her youth, Needham was a highly touted prospect, attending Shattuck-Saint Mary's, before tearing her ACL, MCL, PCL and meniscus when she was 15, needing eight reconstructive surgeries.[1] From 2004 to 2007, she played hockey for Minnesota State University as a forward, posting 31 points across 97 NCAA games.[2] She was forced to leave hockey after suffering a life-threatening staph infection and facing limited options for professional careers in women's hockey.[3]
After some time working as a rancher, she returned to hockey, volunteering as a coach for a local girls' team.[4] In 2009, she founded the Legend Hockey development centre, and founded the Sioux Falls Power five years later as a Tier 1 junior team.
In 2018, she was hired as an amateur scout by the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs, covering the Midwestern United States region.[5][6]
In 2020, she left the Maple Leafs to join the Chicago Steel of the USHL as assistant general manager.[7] Later that year, The Hockey News named her as one of ten women who could potentially be a future NHL general manager.[8]