Michigan Tech’s David Johnstone talks about participating in the Red Wings’ development camp
By Nick Barnowski –
TRAVERSE CITY – David Johnstone said he was a little bit nervous, but no one could blame him.
It’s not every day you put on the uniform of the team you grew up cheering for.
The Grand Ledge native skated in last weekend’s Detroit Red Wings development camp, hosted by Centre Ice Arena in Traverse City.
“They’re my favorite team, so it’s an honor,” he said.
The Michigan Tech soon-to-be senior forward was invited to camp by the club as a free agent. He said the moment was a “lifelong dream.”
“I feel good. There are a lot of great players here, just trying to get the rust off because some of us haven’t really skated in a while.”
Johnstone came into development camp after enjoying another fine offensive season with the Huskies.
“Throughout the season you get better and better and here we’re only with each other for a week so we haven’t hit our best stride yet,” the 5-foot-11 forward said. “You try to get some chemistry going as quick as you can because you want to make an impact right away.”
Development camp was a return to Traverse City for Johnstone, who played for the Traverse City North Stars of the NAHL from 2008-09.
It also provided the state of Michigan to host another stop in his career. The 22-year-old played his youth hockey in Lansing with the Capital Centre Pride and he’s spent the past three years in Houghton with Michigan Tech.
Johnstone has been a key part of the Huskies offense since stepping on campus. He won the team’s Norbert Matovich Award as most outstanding freshman after tallying 29 points in 39 games in his first season. As a sophomore he finished second on the team in scoring with 29 points and helped send MTU to the WCHA Final Five.
This past season Johnstone scored 11 goals and added nine assists for Tech in the new-look WCHA. The Huskies finished fifth in the conference with a 12-11-5 record (14-19-7 overall).
“It was different because in my first two years I played in the old WCHA with North Dakota, Wisconsin and them,” he said. “It was a different change. The new one is more competitive.
“You have to come every night and every team is going to work hard and bring their best. That’s how it is.”
After finding some time to digest what it was like to wear the Winged Wheel at camp, Johnstone was happy that the latest step in his career came in Michigan.
“You have your family there and the people you meet along the way,” he said. “It’s been good. You make a lot of close connections with the people you meet in Michigan.”