What does the Penalty Timekeeper do, and how is the penalty bench set up?

Penalty Timekeeper duties (Rule 5.5, Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-2028)

• Keeps the time served by each penalized player and, on request, tells the player the unfinished time of their penalty.
• If a player leaves the Penalty Bench before their time has expired, notes the time and signals the referee at the next stoppage of play.
• Where a public address system is used, announces (or has announced) the name of each penalized player, the nature of the offence and the time the penalty was assessed.
• Lets penalized players return in the order their penalties expire (Rule 4.14 (c)).
• Opens the Penalty Bench gate when the penalty time is up. The player is then considered to be on the ice for icing and off-side purposes (Rule 6.7 Interpretation 3 and Rule 6.11 Interpretation 9).

The Penalty Bench (Rule 1.10)

• It has seating for eight people, for penalized players, the Penalty Timekeeper, the Game Timekeeper and the Official Scorer.
• It is on the opposite side of the rink from the Players' Bench or, if that is not possible, at least 6.09 m (20 ft.) from either bench.
• There are two separate Penalty Benches, Home and Visitor, each with its own gate opening away from the ice and outside the Referee's crease. Opposing teams are physically separated.
• If the gates are at unequal distances from centre ice, the gate closest to centre ice is for the Visiting Team.
• The referee separates players of opposing teams on the Penalty Bench when possible to prevent feuding (Rule 5.2 (h)).