Erica Kromm, who played nine seasons of pro hockey in Canada after her ECAC Hockey career, joined the Yale Women’s Ice Hockey staff as an assistant in January of 2022. She immediately impacted the program and helped the Bulldogs complete their best season ever to that point.
The 2021-22 squad went 26-9-1 (16-5-1 ECAC), finished ranked No.4 in the nation and made its first Frozen Four appearance after winning the NCAA Regional and smashing all the team records.
Kromm helped lead the Bulldogs to even greater heights in 2022-23, shattering most of the records set in the previous year, including wins (28), ECAC victories (19), goals (132), assists (231). Yale won the ECAC regular season title for the first time in program history and made it to the conference semifinals. The Bulldogs were selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year, ultimately falling to Northeastern in the first round.
Kromm, who was in her first season as an assistant coach at LIU during 2021-22, spent the previous two seasons coaching at Mount Royal University in the Canadian U Sports Division.
Kromm played defense and forward with the Calgary Inferno of the CWHL and the PWHPA. A two-time Clarkson Cup Champion (2016, 18), Kromm served as team captain in 2017-18 and assistant captain from 2013-15. She finished her nine-year pro career playing in 179 games while collecting 13 goals and 37 points.
Kromm was team captain at Brown under legendary head coach Digit Murphy. She was All-Ivy Honorable Mention while earning the team’s Pride and Perseverance Award and the Panda Cup (awarded by the coaches to a player who demonstrates leadership and determination). Kromm finished her collegiate career with 16 goals and 42 points in 115 games. She graduated in 2011 with a degree in the Commerce, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship, specializing in Sociology and European Medieval History.
In her first regular season as assistant coach at Mount Royal the team broke a program-high eight records, including goals scored. Kromm helped lead MRU to a second-round playoff win, and a Canada West Silver Medal that helped the team claim a berth in the U Sports National Championships.
Kromm, who worked at the highly regarded North American Hockey Academy helping elite U-18 prospective student-athletes prepare for college careers, is a third-generation hockey coach. Her grandfather, Bobby Kromm, had a 17-year professional coaching career. He was a player-coach for the Trail Smoke Eaters when they won the 1961 World Hockey Championship and spent three seasons in the NHL as the head coach for the Detroit Red Wings. Her father, Richard, was a professional hockey player for 10 seasons, including stints with the NHL's Calgary Flames and New York Islanders. Richard, who has also coached and served in various leadership positions at the major junior and professional level, is currently a scout for the Chicago Blackhawks.
