In 2000 Dahlman transferred to Ilves and went on to win the bronze medal and the 2001 Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy as best rookie.

Dahlman played two seasons in North America firstly in 2001–02 with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League and ten games with the Ottawa Senators.

In the 2002–03 season, Dahlman played briefly for Ottawa before returning to the AHL with affiliate, the Binghamton Senators.

Dahlman returned to Finland for the 2003–04 season and represented Ilves in a total of 41 games, scoring 9 goals and 18 assists.

On 20 April 2011, Dahlman left the Grizzly Adams after a finals appearance in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, and returned to Austria on a one-year contract to play with Graz.