NEW York Rangers legend Mike Richter has gone from saving pucks to helping the planet save energy.
Richter was one of the greatest goalies in NHL history, leading the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup in over 50 years in 1994.
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He won a silver medal for the United States at the 2002 Winter Olympics and had his No. 35 jersey retired by the Rangers.
Richter is also a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
Since retiring in 2003, Richter has forged a role as one of the leading clean-energy entrepreneurs in the United States.
Richter serves as president of Brightcore Energy, which specializes in providing enhanced energy strategies for commercial and industrial buildings.
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This includes LED lighting, solar power, electric vehicle chargers, battery storage, and renewable heating and cooling.
The aim is to help companies eliminate waste and improve their finances at the same time.
Commercial buildings account for 18.6 per cent of US energy consumption.
Earlier this year, Brightcore partnered with the NHL to help bring energy-efficient LED and connected lighting solutions to community ice rinks across the US.
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“A company like, say, Goldman Sachs, studies efficiency in everything they do to eliminate waste. Waste equals money," Richter told Westchester magazine.
"At Brightcore, we want businesses to think about energy in the same way. This is about doing energy better."
Richter immediately thrust himself into the business world when he retired aged 36 after a bad head injury, enrolling at Yale University.
He previously studied at the University of Wisconsin prior to his ice hockey career and took courses at Columbia University during his playing days.
Few students cared about his illustrious playing career during his return to college.
"Most of the students had no idea who I was or didn’t care. I was too old for them to know,” Richter said.
Richter left Yale's Eli Whitney's Students program with a bachelor’s degree in ethics, politics, and economics, with a concentration in environmental policy.
In 2007, he co-founded Environmental Capital Partners, a private equity firm in Manhattan.
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Four years later, he co-founded Healthy Planet Partners before going on to accept the role of Brightcore president.
"Ice is a perfect metaphor for what's going on right now, especially considering a report by the UN Environment Program that predicted global warming might make the Arctic nearly ice-free by 2040," Richter noted.
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