Johnstone played
major junior with the
Medicine Hat Tigers of the
Western Canada Hockey League from
1971 to
1974. After two consecutive 100 point seasons with Medicine Hat, Johnstone was drafted 104th overall by the
New York Rangers in the
1974 NHL amateur draft, and 78th overall by the
Michigan Stags in the
1974 WHA Amateur Draft. He played 23 games for the Stags in
1974–75 and played in the
American Hockey League (AHL) for the
Providence Reds. Johnstone started his
National Hockey League career in
1975–76, scoring 3 points in 10 games. Johnstone played for the Rangers until the end of the
1982–83 season, before being traded to the
Detroit Red Wings along with
Ron Duguay and
Eddie Mio for
Mike Blaisdell,
Willie Huber, and
Mark Osborne. He played for the Red Wings and their AHL affiliate, the
Adirondack Red Wings before retiring in
1987. ==Awards and achievements==