The mascot is inspired by Danish writer and poet Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale about ‘The Ugly Duckling’ and "its journey from being bullied to becoming a hero of the tale".

There are four potential names which fans are encouraged to vote for.

They are Hero, SlapDuck, Ugly Puckling and Duckly.

“We decided to have the duckling as the mascot as it is the hero of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairytale The Ugly Duckling, who was in fact a cygnet being bullied in the duck yard before turning into a beautiful swan,” explains Enver Hansen, chief executive of the Organising Committee.

“The swan is the national bird of Denmark, and the transformation of The Ugly Duckling resembles that of Danish ice hockey over the last 15 to 20 years, where the national team has gone from the lower divisions to continually competing at the highest level among the 16 best nations in the world."

The voting will conclude on June 19, and the result will be announced shortly after.

Supporters can cast their vote here. 

The group stage draw for next year's World Championships was made last month.

Recently crowned champions Sweden will play in Group A, which is due to be based in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.

The Swedes were crowned the winners of this year's tournament after defeating Canada via a shoot-out on May 21 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne.

They have been drawn alongside this year's bronze medallists Russia, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Belarus, Slovakia, France and Austria.

Action in the capital will take place at the 12,500-capacity Royal Arena, which will also host the semi-finals and medal matches.

Host Denmark will play in Group B in Herning.

This year's silver medallists Canada will also be in group B along with Finland, the United States, Germany, Norway, Latvia and South Korea.

The games will be played at the Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, which has a capacity of 11,000.