Curt Giles behind the bench Monday night where he earned his 500th win as Edina’s coach in a 4-1 win over St. Louis Park. Giles began his tenure at Edina in 1999. PHOTO BY JACKSON BOLINEEdina coach becomes 18th in state history to reach 500-win milestone
by Bryan Zollman
One would be hard pressed to find someone who has been involved in as many games as Edina Head Coach Curt Giles.
The former North Star played 14 years in the NHL which included 895 games. He has coached 688 games over 18 years at the high school level, and on Monday became the 18th coach in the state’s history to achieve 500 wins.
Edina defeated St. Louis Park Monday 4-1 to improve to 3-0 on the season. They finally solved St. Louis Park goaltender Bennett Anderson 11 minutes in when Quintin Schaefer scored for a 1-0 lead. They added two second-period goals by John Halverson and Jackson Nevers and took a 4-0 lead in the third on a goal by Ryan Flaherty.
Giles joins an exclusive club of 17 other coaches who have reached 500 wins, including active coaches Mike Randolph at ST. Thomas Academy and formerly head coach fo Duluth East (680), Hill-Murray’s Bill Lechner (595), Benilde-St. Margaret’s Ken Pauly (565), and Woodbury’s Wes Bolin (526).
Giles is in his 25th season as head coach at Edina and has led the Hornets to 14 state tournaments and four Class AA titles (2010, 2013, 2014, 2019).
Minnesota HS Boys Coaches Career Wins
| Coach | Team | W-L-T | ||
| Lorne Grosso | Rochester Mayo | 707-442-31 | ||
| Roy Nystrom | Albert Lea | 705-502-24 | ||
| Mike Randolph | Duluth East/STA | 680-226-35 | ||
| Willard Ikola | Edina | 616-149-38 | ||
| Jeff Linquist | BLM Jefferson/Blake | 599-323-33 | ||
| Bill Lechner | Hill-Murray | 595-252-35 | ||
| Jim O’Neill | Cretin-Derham Hall | 593-316-41 | ||
| Tony Sarsland | Elk River | 588-189-26 | ||
| Larry Ross | International Falls | 566-169-21 | ||
| Ken Pauly | Benilde-St. Margaret’s | 565-277-34 | ||
| Lee Smith | Eden Prairie | 547-223-40 | ||
| Bruce Plante | Hermantown | 547-197-23 | ||
| Tom Saterdalen | Bloomington Jefferson | 545-167-21 | ||
| Mark Loahr | Totino-Grace | 538-335-31 | ||
| Cliff Thompson | Eveleth | 534-26-9 | ||
| Gordy Genz | Roseville | 529-261-23 | ||
| Wes Bolin | Woodbury | 526-419-46 | ||
| Curt Giles | Edina | 500-160-28 | ||
BOLD = Active Coaches
Curt Giles Playing Career
| 1973-74 | Humboldt Broncos | SJHL | |||||||||||
| 1974-75 | Humboldt Broncos | SJHL | |||||||||||
| 1975-76 | U. of Minnesota-Duluth | WCHA | 34 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 76 | ||||||
| 1976-77 | U. of Minnesota-Duluth | WCHA | 37 | 12 | 37 | 49 | 64 | ||||||
| 1977-78 | U. of Minnesota-Duluth | WCHA | 34 | 11 | 36 | 47 | 62 | ||||||
| 1978-79 | U. of Minnesota-Duluth | WCHA | 38 | 8 | 45 | 53 | 63 | ||||||
| 1979-80 | Oklahoma City Stars | CHL | 42 | 4 | 24 | 28 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1979-80 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 37 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 31 | -9 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| 1980-81 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 67 | 5 | 22 | 27 | 56 | 8 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 14 |
| 1981-82 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 74 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 87 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1982-83 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 76 | 2 | 21 | 23 | 70 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 1983-84 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 70 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 59 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 25 |
| 1984-85 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 77 | 5 | 25 | 30 | 49 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| 1985-86 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 69 | 6 | 21 | 27 | 30 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1986-87 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1986-87 | New York Rangers | NHL | 61 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 50 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 1987-88 | New York Rangers | NHL | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | -5 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1987-88 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 59 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 66 | -28 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1988-89 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 76 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 77 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 1989-90 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 74 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 48 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 1990-91 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 70 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 48 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| 1991-92 | Canadian National Team | Intl | 31 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 37 | ||||||
| 1991-92 | Canada Olympic Team | Intl | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||||||
| 1991-92 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | -3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1992-93 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 48 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 40 | -2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| NHL Totals | 895 | 43 | 199 | 242 | 733 | 103 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 118 |
