SAN JOSE — Brent Burns is more than willing to go along with the plan to return him to the blue line after a full season at power forward.

But he acknowledged Saturday that he has a hard time choosing between his slot as Joe Thornton’s linemate and the back-to-the-future move to defense.

“I feel confident I could get 30 goals playing forward, but I also love the challenge of playing D and playing more than 20 minutes a game,” Burns said Saturday after the Sharks’ first scrimmage of training camp. “I love that challenge. I love being on the ice more. I think you control the game more as a defenseman than you do as a forward. It’s hard. Obviously I like both and you have fun playing as a forward, too.”

The comments were Burns’ first on the topic since general manager Doug Wilson’s May 15 announcement that Dan Boyle was not getting a contract extension and that Burns would shift back to the position he played when the Sharks acquired him in 2011.

Coach Todd McLellan said Burns looked fine paired with Scott Hannan in the scrimmage. But the coach said he expected there to be an adjustment period.

“It will take him a little bit just to get comfortable there again,” McLellan said. “But, when I say a little bit, we’re not talking about Christmas. By the time we’ve done the exhibition season, he’ll be an All-Star defenseman again.”

Burns skated in the 2011 NHL All-Star game, then was acquired five months later by the Sharks. He struggled at times, and late in the 2012-13 season was switched to forward when the Sharks needed more scoring up front.

With 22 goals and 48 points in 69 games last season, Burns was San Jose’s fifth-leading scorer.

Saturday’s scrimmage was also the first in a San Jose uniform for defenseman Mirco Mueller, the team’s first-round pick in the 2013 NHL draft who skated on a limited basis a year ago because of a back injury. Paired with fellow roster hopeful Matt Tennyson, Mueller showed some tentativeness with the puck in his own zone but also displayed the smooth skating style that impressed the scouts. “I played pretty well. It was a pretty fast pace,” Mueller said. “It’s the first game I’ve played with the big guys, so it was definitely a good start to kind of get camp going.” Mueller had one assist for the white team in its 2-1 loss to the teal team, feeding the puck to Tennyson on the power play for a booming shot that tied the scrimmage at 1-1. Barring injuries, Mueller appears to be competing with Tennyson, Taylor Doherty and Taylor Fedun for one spot on the San Jose defense. “I saw a player that was excited to be here, a player that looked somewhat comfortable,” McLellan said. “His play going forward will dictate where he fits.” As 19, Mueller could still be returned to Everett of the Western Hockey League as late as nine games into the regular season without the first year of his contract kicking in.