[1] After contributing immediately to the offense, Rankin remained with the Americans for the duration of the 2011–12 season, signing his first AHL contract and scoring an impressive 29 points in 35 games.

Rankin left the Amerks as a free agent and on July 10, 2013, was signed to a one-year contract with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL.

[4] On July 22, 2014, Rankin signed his first contract abroad, agreeing to a one-year deal with German club, Kölner Haie of the DEL.

[5] In the 2014–15 season, Rankin appeared in 18 games in Koln, however struggled to adapt to the European perimeters, totalling just 3 points before opting to return to the AHL for a second stint with the Rochester Americans on January 26, 2015.

Rankin as the club's franchise leader in goals announced his retirement from professional hockey on September 1, 2017.