If you asked him six months ago, Tim Bozon never would have guessed he’d be on his way to training camp.

He had other things on his mind — like learning how to walk again.

Back in March, while still with his junior team, the Kootenay Ice, the 20-year-old contracted a near-fatal case of meningitis, an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

He spent nearly a month in the hospital, and several days in an induced coma as doctors tried to slow the progression of the disease.

When Bozon was finally released March 28, he couldn’t walk let alone skate. He’d lost 40 pounds and many of his basic motor skills.

“Every summer you want to improve and gain more weight, but I couldn’t do that,” he told The Spectator. Instead, he focused on recuperation.

“It’s almost as if I lost a year,” he added. “But I’m back to normal and I want to keep working out this winter to catch up on what I lost.”

The St. Louis-born winger is one of 27 players now in Newfoundland with the Hamilton Bulldogs. The team officially opened its training camp Tuesday with a media event at FirstOntario Centre at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, before catching a flight to The Rock.

Bozon, Montreal’s third round pick in 2012, said the trip would give players an opportunity to build some chemistry. On top of that, St. John’s, where the team plays the last of three pre-season matchups against the IceCaps, is “a pretty special place to be.”

“I’m looking forward to playing my first games with the Bulldogs and having fun,” he added. “And then coming back and being ready for the season.”

Veteran goaltender Joey MacDonald, who the Canadiens recently signed to a one-year, two-way deal, agreed.

At Montreal’s training camp, “there were so many players and you’re going from one group to the next,” he said. “So this one here, we go out, we’re a team, we have our team dinners and you get to know everybody.

“One the other end, we get to learn the systems and start getting ready for next Saturday night.”

The Bulldogs return to Hamilton Monday and open their regular season Oct. 11 in Rochester. The team’s first home game is Oct. 17 against the Toronto Marlies.