But, it has become an even steeper trek as injuries rippled through the Washington lineup, necessitating the recalls of forward Chandler Stephenson and defenseman Madison Bowey from Hershey to the Capitals.
The loss of the top two goaltenders in Hershey, Pheonix Copley and Vitek Vanecek, further complicated matters for Mann. Copley did not return until Nov. 3, and Vanecek made his season debut this past Sunday. Each had a lower-body injury.
It all added up to a 1-5-0-1 start for Hershey in the stacked Atlantic Division.
Winning has been a way of life through the Washington-Hershey affiliation that started in 2005. Hershey has delivered a steady stream of players to Washington, won three Calder Cup championships, reached the Calder Cup final an additional two times, and reached the postseason in 11 of 12 seasons.
The early roster issues put several of Mann's young players, especially rookie defensemen Connor Hobbs, Lucas Johansen, and Jonas Siegenthaler, under a fair bit of duress.
"I think our young [defensemen] have grown and gotten better with every week," Mann said.
"We're not out of the woods by any means. We're in the toughest division in the league, so there is a lot of work to be done here."
Hershey has gone 5-2-0-1 in its past eight games to get back into the thick of things, trailing Atlantic Division-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins by seven points, but only two behind fourth-place Providence Bruins.
Here's a look at five facets that will bear watching as Hershey attempts to overcome its slow start: