John Simonson stays very busy when he’s on the ice for the Austin Bruins.

The 19-year old Grand Forks, N.D.-native is fourth on the team in points with 27 goals and 30 assists.

But when he leaves the ice, Simonson likes to grab his guitar and unwind.

The forward picked up playing in his senior year of high school and mostly likes to jam out to alternative and classic rock. Some of his favorite songs to play include “Sister Golden Hair” by America and “Wagon Wheel” by Old Crow Medicine Show.

“If I’m sitting around in my basement, I’ll just play whatever comes to my head,” Simonson said. “It’s something to fill the time with. It’s a fun hobby and if you’re sitting at home for hours on edge, I can only watch so much TV and it’s nice to do something else.”

When Simonson hears a song he’d like to learn, he’ll look up the music on the Internet and learn how to play. He started playing by taking a couple of lessons and now he’s even found a singing partner.

Since Simonson doesn’t sing to his music, he’s let teammate Chris Fischer do that for him. The two performed a musical number together on ‘Paint the Rink Pink Night’ and they’ve also performed for teammates.

“He loves to sing and I love to play,” Simonson said. “Together we’re kind of a little duo. It’s fun.”

Simonson said it was tough to move so far from home last year, his first season with the Bruins. But this year he’s felt much more comfortable and the team has bonded well together.

“We all kind of understand what each other is going through,” he said. “A lot of people have their families far away so we’re kind of like our own little family. We get through it together.”

Simonson is now focusing on the playoffs as the Bruins open the NAHL Central Division playoffs as the top seed. They will host Minot at 7:05 p.m. April 12 and April 13.

Austin made it to the Central Division finals last season, but lost to Bismark.

“The last three weekends have maybe been a little dull for us because the places were locked,” Simonson said. “I’m excited to play in the higher tempo that the playoffs have.”