MONTREAL (AP) - Zipping up the Olympic sweater with 'CANADA' emblazoned in bold across the back brought a certain kind of relief to Canada's top short-track speedskaters Wednesday.

Although there were few surprises as to who would be listed on the final roster, the news conference to announce the Olympic team signaled the true lead-up to the 2010 Winter Games.

"The trials are so important and such a big step you don't want to think about the Olympics, but now we can focus on the real goal," said team member Olivier Jean.

Canada's short-track speed skaters are expected to make several trips to the podium at the Vancouver Olympics. At the 2006 Games in Turin, Canada collected four short-track medals (three silver, one bronze).

The team is a tight group of fun-loving but fierce athletes, who say they all work and play hard together.

Seven members of the team had already been selected prior to Wednesday's announcement at Montreal's Maurice Richard Arena, one of the sport's national training centers.

Charles Hamelin, the 500-meter world champion and silver medalist in the 5,000-meter relay at the Turin Games, pre-qualified because of his third-place finish in the overall world championship standings. The 25-year-old from Levis, Que., says he's personally aiming for at least two medals in Vancouver.

Jean, the reggae-loving skater with a wild crop of dreadlocks tied up behind his head, secured a spot at the Olympic trials in Vancouver earlier this month, as did Guillaume Bastille.

Hamelin's fresh-faced younger brother Francois, and three-time Olympic medallist Francois-Louis Tremblay were two of Speed Skating Canada's discretionary picks for the team.

Tremblay expressed relief the team was finally announced. He sat on the sidelines at the trials, frustrated by a bad ankle injury that he says is now behind him.

"It was a really hard summer for me because I didn't know what was going to happen next," said the 29-year-old from Alma, Que. "I didn't know if I was going to the Olympics and I probably won't go to the next one.

"When I found out, it was one of the best feelings I've had."

On the women's side, there is "grandma" Tania Vicent, the 33-year-old veteran who has three Olympic relay medals in her collection, Olympic first-timer Marianne St-Gelais, and Kalyna Roberge, fourth overall at last year's world championships.

"I think in Vancouver (at the trials) I didn't really realize it, but now I do and I'm really excited and happy to be here," said Roberge.

Edmonton's Jessica Gregg, ranked No. 1 in Canada this year, is the only member of the team from outside Quebec. Her mother Kathy is a former Olympian, as was father Randy - a ex-Oiler.

Valerie Maltais was the final discretionary choice for the team after the Vancouver trials. She's also a newcomer to the Games.

Former Olympian Nathalie Lambert, Canada's chef de mission for the Games and a former speed skater herself, admitted that she would be paying extra-close attention to the fortunes of this team.

"I don't want to miss anything," said Lambert, who won medals in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. "That big rush of adrenaline, there's nothing that compares to that."

The team now heads towards World Cup competitions in Asia, the United States and Canada. The competitions will determine how many spots Canadian athletes will secure at the Olympics.