Switching from Buy-Side FI Research to RX Advisory

I recently accepted an internship offer at a Boutique L/O Asset Manager in their high-yield and leveraged loans group. Moving forward, I am interested in working in special situations (either loan-to-own or control-oriented secondary distressed). These roles typically require restructuring experience.

I am aware that a credit research internship will touch on a lot of the skills used in special sits investing, but the strategies I am interested in are a mix of research and deal-making, so I imagine IB experience is important.

To this end, how easy/difficult would it be to make this transition at the end of my junior summer? I know that full-time recruiting is significantly less structured than internship recruiting, so how should I approach this process? When is the right time to network? Thank you in advance.