Campbell psyched for Classic

Brian Campbell can't wait for Thursday's Winter Classic so his Blackhawks teammates can experience what he did last New Year's Day when he participated in the outdoor game with the Buffalo Sabres.

"Last year the excitement really started to build the day before," Campbell said. "It was a lot of fun last year for our team. I think the guys have to go out there and enjoy it and have fun with it, but you still have to go out there and play a solid game."

Campbell and the Hawks will get their first live look at the Wrigley Field setup today when they practice at the North Side ballpark.

"It's fun to see what kind of obstacles are going to come at us, what the weather is going to be like, how the ice is going to fare," Campbell said. "It's something that you can celebrate with your families and your teammates and the whole city of Chicago."

Campbell said the hype for this game is way more than it was in Buffalo.

"The exposure is a lot more, which is good," Campbell said. "In Buffalo you had a family atmosphere with the city and I think we're starting to gain that in Chicago. People kind of set their holiday around that game and to be a part of it.

"It's going to be an electrifying atmosphere."

Roster shuffle: The Hawks activated Adam Burish off the long-term injured reserve list Tuesday by figuring our a way to get him under the salary cap.

They placed defenseman Brent Sopel on long-term IR with an undisclosed injury, giving themselves $2.5 million of cap space. It means Sopel can't play for 10 games or 24 days.

Sopel has been a scratch in four of the last five games.

Burish has been sidelined since Nov. 25 when he broke his big toe blocking a shot in practice.

The Hawks now are about $1.8 million under the $56.7 million salary cap.

Star gazing: It looks to be a lock that Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Brian Campbell will be starting for the Western Conference in the Jan. 25 All-Star Game in Montreal.

According to the latest vote totals by the fans, Kane leads all West forward with more than 774,000 votes. Toews is second with more than 674,000 votes and Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf is third with 607,000 votes.

Campbell leads all West defensemen with more than 655,000 votes. Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom is second with more than 532,000 votes.

Fan voting ends Friday.