Often times, the transition into a post-playing career can be incredibly difficult for those who’ve been playing for so long, just ask former New York Rangers goaltender Mike Richter.

Richter, who spent his entire career with the Rangers and helped them win the Stanley Cup in 1994, retired from hockey in 2003, but the choice wasn’t entirely his. The American-born goalie suffered two concussions in a span of eight months the previous year, the first of which also resulted in a fractured skull.

Before the injury, Richter, 36 at the time, believed he could play for another few years, but when a doctor at McGill University in Montreal could not clear him to play hockey, he knew the writing was on the wall.

“I couldn’t mouth the words: ‘Hey, it’s over,’” Richter told Peter Baugh of The Athletic.

At the time of his retirement, Richter was the Rangers’ all-time leader in wins with 301, a record that would later be surpassed by Henrik Lundqvist. The team would also raise his No. 35 jersey to the rafters of Madison Square Garden in February of 2004, just months after his retirement.

It was a great show of appreciation for all that Richter had done for the Blueshirts, but also a reminder of what he was walking away from.

“It is like a death,” Richter said. “That’s who you were, and you are no longer that.”

As one door closed for Richter, another one opened. He started applying to schools with the intent of finishing the degree he started at Wisconsin in the 80s, and eventually enrolled at Yale in 2004. He then graduated with a major in ethics, politics and economics, as well as a minor in environmental policy.

“This is the air we breathe, this is the water we drink, this is the limited resources we either have or don’t have,” Richter said. “We better figure it out and figure it out right, fast. Because everybody’s got a stake.”

Fast forward to today, and Richter is now president of Brightcore Energy, a company that aims to provide clean energy and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. He has been at the helm since 2016, one year over the company’s founding, and has a team of roughly 120 employees. His primary focus is on sales and business development, but also plays a key role in keeping employee morale high.

It took a lot of time and effort, but Richter has forged an incredible career for himself outside of hockey, and he’s making the most of his follow-up act.

“It’s fascinating to go from one world to another,” Richter said. “I feel like there’s a larger, meaningful need that you’re addressing. … If you can make the world a little bit better, great.”