Just a few months ago, Amanda Conway didn’t know if she had a future in professional hockey.

“I guess I just didn’t know if anyone was going to want me,” the Connecticut Whale draft pick said. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up and then get shut down.”

A couple weeks after the Norwich women’s hockey season ended abruptly, Conway’s attitude changed when she got a call from Connecticut general manager Bray Ketchum.

“They needed goal scorers, and I was like ,’that makes sense,'” Conway said.

As far as goal scorers go, few have been more productive in the DIII ranks than the Methuen, Mass. native. Conway netted 116 goals in 111 games with Norwich and ranks third on the all-time NCAA DIII scoring list.

Former Norwich head coach Mark Bolding, who now coaches Yale, reached out to Ketchum about Conway. The Whale GM played her collegiate hockey with Yale from 2007-11.

“He told me [Ketchum] was going to reach out to me,” Conway said. “He gave her all my stuff.”

The Connecticut Whale selected Conway in the fourth round with the 19th overall pick in the draft, making her the first Norwich player ever drafted into the NWHL.

“I honestly didn’t even know that,” Conway said. “It’s really exciting. I feel like I’ve made a lot of Norwich history, and it’s an honor to be a part of it.”

The Cadets are well-represented on the current Whale roster. Conway will join forwards Kaycie Anderson ’15 and Sarah Schwenzfeier ’18 on the team.

The NWHL season will likely get a late start due to the pandemic, but an official start date has yet to be announced.