Bobby Kromm

{{Short description|Canadian ice hockey coach (1928–2010)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2011}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Robert Kromm

| image =

| caption =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1928|6|8}}

| birth_place = Calgary, Alberta, Canada

| death_date = {{death date and age|2010|6|9|1928|6|8}}

| death_place = Livonia, Michigan, U.S.

| occupation = Former NHL coach

| known_for =

| employer = Detroit Red Wings

| years_active = 1977–1980 (as NHL coach)

}}

Robert Kromm (June 8, 1928 – June 9, 2010) was a National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) head coach. He was the coach behind the first Avco World Trophy championship for the Winnipeg Jets, with the high-flying team losing only one playoff game in 1976. He won the Robert Schmertz Trophy as WHA Coach of the Year for the 1975-76 season. That fall, he was as an assistant coach for Canada at the inaugural Canada Cup. He left the Jets for the Detroit Red Wings in 1977. In his first season, he became the first coach in franchise history to win the Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year. He led the 1977–78 Red Wings to a 37-point improvement on their 16 win season the year previous, and a second-place finish in the Norris Division.{{cite web |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SilverwareTrophyWinner.jsp?tro=JAA&year=1977-78 |title=Norris Winners – Bobby Kromm |publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame |access-date=2010-04-26}} The Red Wings made the playoffs for the first time in eight years.

In 1961, Kromm took an underdog team from Trail, British Columbia to an Ice Hockey World Championships win over the Russians. The Trail Smoke Eaters represented Canada that year.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} Kromm coached the Trail Smoke Eaters to the 1962 Allan Cup championship and were chosen to represent Canada at the 1963 Ice Hockey World Championships. When the Western International Hockey League did not operate during the 1962–63 season, the team appealed to the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) for exhibition games in preparation for the World Championships.{{cite news|title=Smokies Ask For Money, Games|date=January 21, 1963|newspaper=Medicine Hat News|location=Medicine Hat, Alberta|page=7|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-jan-21-1963-2245800/}}{{free access}} Canada placed fourth at the 1963 World Championships, its worst result at the time.{{cite news|title=Russians Win World Hockey Tourney By Goal Margin|last=Currie|first=Rod|date=March 18, 1963|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=22|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-mar-18-1963-2246123/}}{{free access}} The CAHA and the Smoke Eaters disagreed on the team's financial statement of the European tour, and Kromm faulted the CAHA for lack of financial assistance and additional players to strengthen the team. CAHA president Art Potter felt that the CAHA had done nothing wrong and accused Kromm of poor judgment in choosing players. The team perceived Potter's statement as censuring the coach and was criticized as "unfair and unsportsmanlike".{{cite news|title=CAHA Censures Smokies' Coach|date=May 23, 1963|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=33|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-may-23-1963-2247456/}}{{free access}}{{cite news|title=Kromm Snaps Back At CAHA Criticism|date=May 24, 1963|newspaper=Brandon Sun|location=Brandon, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-may-24-1963-2247602/}}{{free access}}

Kromm's son, Richard, played ten years in the NHL for the Calgary Flames and New York Islanders.{{cite web |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=10838 |title=Richard Kromm player profile |publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame |access-date=2010-04-26}}

His granddaughter daughter Erica played professional ice hockey for the Calgary Inferno in the Canadian Women's Hockey League, appearing in the 2016 Clarkson Cup finals,{{cite web|url= http://cwhl_site.stats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=2854811|title= 2016 Clarkson Cup |publisher=cwhl|date=March 13, 2016|accessdate=March 15, 2016}}{{cite web| url = http://www.uscho.com/stats/player/wid,5884/erica-kromm/| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141205032307/http://www.uscho.com/stats/player/wid,5884/erica-kromm/| archive-date =December 5, 2014| title = Player: Erica Kromm - Statistics |website=U.S. College Hockey Online}} Having also played in the PWHPA, she became a member of the Long Island Sharks women's ice hockey coaching staff.

Born in Calgary, Alberta. Kromm died from complications of colorectal cancer one day after his 82nd birthday in Livonia, Michigan.{{cite web |url=http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=531530&navid=DL |title=Former Wings coach Kromm dies |date=2010-06-11 |access-date=2010-06-11}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/detroitnews/name/robert-kromm-obituary?pid=182225892|title=Robert David Kromm Obituary (2010) |publisher=The Detroit News |website=Legacy.com|access-date=December 6, 2021}}